Stuck
by Robeth
Summary: *Completed* Elizabeth and Robert get stuck in an elevator and soon other things ensue. Cordano.
1. Stuck

Disclaimer: I do not own Elizabeth Corday or Robert Romano. Elizabeth belongs to Robert and Robert belongs to Elizabeth and they are both owned by WB etc...  
  
-This is my first ER fic ever so be gentle and bear with me. It's taking place somewhere during season 9. Mark's still dead and Robert's still "un- armed".  
  
Rated PG for mild swearing.  
  
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Elizabeth sighed. Another hectic day at the ER was turning into a night and she was on her way out. She was longing to get back home where her daughter would be waiting for her. Her shift had ended two hours ago, but an uncommonly large number of patients had kept her at the hospital for the extra hours. Now she finally stood by the elevator, ready to go home, hoping that no more interruptions would occur.  
  
The elevator came and the doors opened, but just as Elizabeth was going to step in, she heard a familiar voice calling her name:  
  
"Lizzie!"  
  
'Oh please, not now, not him!' Elizabeth sighed as she turned around to face Robert Romano.  
  
"Yes, Robert?" She asked warily.  
  
"Thanks for holding the elevator", he replied with a little smirk.  
  
Elizabeth sighed. "Anything else?"  
  
"Nope" Romano replied curtly as he entered the elevator. Then, as Elizabeth seemed to hesitate, he continued: "Are you coming or not? I haven't got all day."  
  
Elizabeth could see no reason to retreat and so she stepped in and soon found herself standing close to Romano, uncomfortably close. She could almost feel his breath.and smell him, and feel the warmth of his body.'What the hell are you thinking?' Elizabeth heard an inner voice shouting at her and it quickly brought her back to her senses. She stepped further away from Robert who was leaning on the wall, and the disturbing sense of proximity was gone. Elizabeth released her breath and began to wonder why she was suddenly feeling so uncomfortable in his presence.  
  
Then she heard Robert's voice again. It seemed to be coming form miles away:  
  
"You're going down?"  
  
"Huh?" Elizabeth was caught off her guard.  
  
"You know, the elevator? It takes you either up or down. Which way are you going?" Romano asked in a casual, playful tone, but Elizabeth could see he was not feeling exactly comfortable either.  
  
"Um.I'm going down." She replied as she realized he was waiting for her answer. "I'm going home."  
  
"Right. Down it is then." Romano said, pressing the right button and then, fixing his gaze on the floor, he continued under breath: "That seems to be the general direction I've been heading for several months now."  
  
Elizabeth shot a glance at Robert, but he was avoiding her gaze. Had she heard him correctly?  
  
"Robert? Did you say something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Romano looked up, his face now emotionless. "No", he replied curtly.  
  
"Robert, if." Elizabeth started, but was brought to a halt as the elevator suddenly stopped with a jolt. Elizabeth, standing in the middle of the floor, lost balance and soon found herself falling towards Romano, who quickly caught her with his good arm.  
  
For an awkward minute they stood still, Romano still holding Elizabeth in his arms. Then she pulled away, blushing slightly and mumbling words of apology. Robert said nothing, but he was looking at her in a way she could not misinterpret. She had seen it before, that look of mingled sadness and desire in his dark eyes. Elizabeth quickly looked away and started to examine her hands. She could hear as Robert let out a deep breath. It sounded like a sigh.  
  
For a moment they both stood in silence, then it finally began to dawn on Elizabeth that they weren't moving. The elevator had stopped, but the doors had not opened. They seemed to be stuck somewhere between the floors.  
  
"Robert." she said quietly, almost fearing to break the silence. "I think we're stuck."  
  
The haunting look on Romano's face suddenly disappeared and his lips curved up a little as he replied: "You really think so, Lizzie? My, the sharpness of your wit never ceases to amaze me."  
  
He was mocking her again. Well, at least it was better than the silence. It was something Elizabeth was familiar with and knew how to respond to.  
  
"Oh, shut up, Robert" she said. "If you are as smart as you seem to fancy yourself, then why don't you get us out of here?"  
  
"And what makes you think I'd want to get out?" He replied, folding his arms on his chest. "I'm not needed at the ER and." he lowered his voice and lifted his dark brown eyes to meet Elizabeth's blue ones, ".I think I have all I want right here with me."  
  
Elizabeth found herself unable to hold his gaze. She looked down at her hands again and felt her cheeks flushing. She was suddenly feeling very hot. Then she remember she was wearing a heavy coat and a scarf. She had been on her way out.  
  
Elizabeth quickly removed the coat in order to cool down, but as she was doing so, her eyes met Robert's again and she noticed that he was still looking at her, in a way only he could manage. Whatever coolness she had just gained was lost.  
  
Another silence fell between them and Elizabeth started staring at the walls, trying to avoid another disturbing eye contact with Robert.  
  
'Oh, this is ridiculous!' she heard the inner voice barking. 'Say something! Who knows how long this is going to take. You can't just stand there like an idiot for the rest of the evening.!' That was true. She had to act.  
  
"How long do you think we'll be here?" Elizabeth finally asked, trying to sound very casual.  
  
Robert seemed to be deep in his thoughts for he started at Elizabeth's question.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind." Elizabeth said, sitting down on the floor, having decided that sitting on the floor like an idiot couldn't possibly be any worse than standing. Besides, it was more comfortable. If she had to make a fool of herself, she could do so with dignity.  
  
Romano soon followed her suit and sat down, a bit too close for Elizabeth's liking. So much about the sitting being more comfortable. She shifted a bit uneasily, trying to find an easy subject they could talk about.  
  
"Um.how is you arm?" she then asked, soon wondering if she could have picked a worse topic even if she had tried. This could get emotional, and emotional was not something she wanted right now.or was it? She glanced at Robert, but averted her eyes before he could lock her gaze again.  
  
"What does it matter?" he replied quietly.  
  
"It matters a great deal." Elizabeth replied. "It's you arm, for God's sake."  
  
"It's a useless arm and will probably remain so. And I'll soon be as useless as the arm, but that's probably just for the best..."  
  
"Robert-"  
  
".I will be gone and everyone will be cheering for such good riddance."  
  
"Robert." Elizabeth turned to look at him again, but now it was his turn to avoid her gaze.  
  
"Say it, Lizzie." he said, staring at the floor in front of him  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"That I'm a useless wreck of a man."  
  
Were her eyes deceiving her, or did she just see something wet at the corner of his eye? Elizabeth felt a sudden urge to take him in her arms and.. 'What the hell has gotten into you?' she heard the voice inside of her head again, but this time the voice sounded muffled and she hardly paid any heed to it as she slowly moved closer to Robert on the floor.  
  
Romano looked up at the sound of her movement, a look of surprise in his eyes. Then the eyes seemed to deepen as Elizabeth gently brought her hand to his cheek. Her heart was racing and she hardly knew what she was doing. All she knew was that she couldn't bear to watch Robert in such a state.  
  
"Robert." she said quietly. "You are not a wreck of a man and you would be very much missed if you had to go."  
  
He swallowed, his eyes burning into hers. "Who would miss me?" he asked hoarsely.  
  
There was a short silence as Elizabeth looked down. Then she looked up again to meet Robert's eyes with a level gaze before she replied, her voice barely above a whisper: "I would."  
  
There was another silence during which Elizabeth could hear the beat of her own heart. Then she noticed that Robert was leaning forward. Their lips were only inches away from each other and Elizabeth hadn't yet decided if she wanted to be kissed or if she should respond to it, when she suddenly felt the elevator moving again. She jumped up, startled, almost expecting the doors to flow open to reveal their current position to the entire ER. She felt her cheeks burning. She could not, and would not, look down to Robert, who still lingered on the floor. . Finally the elevator reached the ground floor and Elizabeth turned to look at Robert once more before stepping out. He was still sitting down, now with an unreadable expression on his face. The mask that had fallen for a while seemed to be back on its usual place.  
  
"Robert?" she asked.  
  
He looked up, but did not reply.  
  
"Are you not coming?" she asked.  
  
"I - I think I'll have to pick up some stuff from my office before I leave for tonight."  
  
"Ah.I see." Elizabeth replied. Was that a feeling of disappointment creeping in to her heart? For some reason she didn't feel like parting from Robert. "I guess we'll see tomorrow then?" She asked, trying to push all the strange feelings out of her head. This was not a good time. She needed to get out and cool down. She needed a better moment to sort out her thoughts and feelings about what had just happened.  
  
Romano stood up and seemed to be a bit unsure of himself for a while. For a moment Elizabeth thought he would reach out to caress her cheek, but then he finally turned to press the button in the elevator instead. He would go back up, alone.  
  
"See you tomorrow", he said. "Good night."  
  
"Good night." Elizabeth replied before heading out. The cool breeze of winter air on her face as she stepped out had never felt so wonderful and refreshing before. 


	2. In the Lounge

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of these characters.Dr. Romano, Dr. Corday and Dr. Lewis all belong to other people.  
  
Thank you everyone for your great feedback. This story was originally supposed to be just a short fic about Robert and Elizabeth getting stuck in an elevator and it wasn't my intention to continue it, but after reading you comments I decided to give it a go nevertheless. I'll probably have to change the title of this story eventually as it isn't just about being "stuck" in an elevator anymore, but until I can think of something better, the name will remain the same.  
  
Warning: This chapter contains some *~spoilers~* of upcoming events in the ER.  
  
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The following night Elizabeth found herself unable to sleep. The events of the previous day, particularly the ones that took place in the elevator, kept rushing through her mind, and the look in Robert's eyes when he had stared at her, returned to haunt her dreams whenever she did manage to doze off for a while. But what Elizabeth found even more disturbing was the fact that she couldn't get her mind away from the kiss that almost took place.  
  
She was sure Robert had intended to kiss her. What she wasn't so sure about was how she would have, or should have, reacted. She had never wanted Robert's attentions and she had always kept him at a certain distance. There had always been this line she hadn't allowed Robert to cross. He had almost crossed it that day in the surgeons' lounge when he had caressed her cheek in a moment of "momentary weakness", as he had put it. That day she had escaped and kept the distance, but today she had been the one to cross that delicate line, the line she herself had drawn. Had that too only been a momentary weakness?  
  
After a short consideration, Elizabeth assured herself that it had to be so. Robert was the most selfish, insufferable and annoying person she had ever met. It was sometimes hard enough to work with him, so why would she want to make things any more complicated by starting to think of him also outside of work? It was absolutely ridiculous. No, what she had done in the elevator had indeed been a momentary weakness and it would never happen again. She had been affected by the sadness in Robert's eyes, and whatever it had made her feel was only some form of pity or compassion. If she had felt uncomfortable it was because of the general heat in the elevator, not because she was uncomfortable with her feelings.  
  
Yes, that was it. Elizabeth sighed in relief. What had she been so scared of in the first place anyway? That she'd suddenly find herself in love with Robert Romano? Ridiculous! She settled in her bed, ready to fall asleep after sorting out her thoughts, but for some reason the sleep was still failing her.  
  
'Love? Who said anything about love'. It was the stupid inner voice nagging again, but Elizabeth had to admit herself that her mind still wasn't quite settled. She realized she was in for a long night.  
  
And as if the voice inside of her head wasn't bad enough, the look in Robert's eyes suddenly returned to her mind at full force and stayed there for the rest of the night.  
  
************  
  
"Dr. Corday?"  
  
It was the following morning. Elizabeth stood at the ER desk staring blankly at some papers, absentmindedly trying to figure out what she had been doing. The sleepless night had left its marks on her and she was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything.  
  
"Elizabeth?"  
  
At the sound of her Christian name, Elizabeth finally looked up. It was Susan and she appeared to be looking at her hip.  
  
"Yes, Dr. Lewis?"  
  
"Your pager."  
  
Elizabeth looked down at her pager. It had been beeping for God knows how long and she hadn't noticed anything. 'Damn' , she moaned under her breath, before looking up at Susan again.  
  
"Thanks.I -I don't know how that escaped me." Elizabeth blushed slightly and before Susan could make any comment, she added. "I have to run."  
  
On her way to the trauma room Elizabeth bit her lip, trying to gather her thoughts and hoping she wasn't coming too late. She wasn't. The patient, a young girl injured in a car crash, was only just being brought in.  
  
"What do we have?" Elizabeth asked, finally feeling herself at least remotely awake at the face of real action.  
  
"Broken bones, possible injuries in inner organs. She is breathing."  
  
"Has she been conscious?"  
  
"She was for a while when she was being brought in."  
  
The action brought Elizabeth, at least for a moment, back to her normal rhythm. She quickly examined the patient and to her relief nothing too serious was found. The girl's situation was soon stabilized and since there seemed to be no immediate need to bring her to the OR, Elizabeth decided she could let the other doctors treat her and so she soon exited the trauma room.  
  
She was feeling tired. A cup of coffee seemed to be the only thing she could get her mind fixed on at the moment, so after taking a quick look at a couple of her patients, Elizabeth decided to retire for the lounge for a little break. She needed the caffeine and a moment of solitude wouldn't be unwelcome either.  
  
Elizabeth filled her cup and then fell on the nearest chair with a heavy sigh. But she didn't get to sit there for long before it occurred to her that it was the same chair that Robert had been sitting on when he had reached out to stroke her cheek not so long ago. In fact, it was also the same chair she had been sitting on crying, after finding out about Mark's tumor's return. Robert had been so kind to her that day.and Mark - Why did the memory of Mark suddenly seem so distant? Granted, it was almost a year now since his dead, but she was still wearing her wedding ring and until recently she had also felt as if she was still mourning. But now, no matter how hard she tried to bring all the endearing elements of Mark into her mind, she couldn't feel the same sense of loss anymore. Had the time come for her to move on? Elizabeth suddenly remembered how Susan had once said that Mark would have wanted her to do it, to move on with her life.  
  
Elizabeth looked at her left hand, fixing her eyes on the golden wedding ring. She remembered how Robert had retrieved it for her after she had lost it. At the time she hadn't been ready to lose the ring, but now it suddenly looked out of place in her hand. She hadn't had a husband for almost a year now, the ring was there only to remind her of days that would never return. She knew she couldn't live like that forever.  
  
Slowly Elizabeth drew the ring out of her finger, and for a while she sat there, contemplating the piece of jewelry, until she was suddenly startled by a sound of the door opening. Elizabeth quickly looked up to see Robert Romano storming in, clearly upset about something.  
  
He stopped abruptly in the middle of the room as he noticed Elizabeth.  
  
"Lizzie", he exclaimed, seemingly surprised to find her there. "I thought you were on shift."  
  
"I - I was" Elizabeth replied, closing the ring in her hand. "I'm just on a little break." She wondered if he had seen the ring.and wondered why it would make any difference to her whether he had or had not seen it.  
  
"Having a rough day?" Romano asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Apparently he hadn't seen the ring.  
  
"Just trying to get over a sleepless night." Elizabeth blurted, then bit her tongue for revealing the truth. She didn't want Robert to guess the sleeplessness had been on his account.  
  
But Romano didn't seem to be paying much attention to her. Something was troubling him.  
  
"Robert?" Elizabeth tried gently.  
  
"What?" Romano snapped, placing his cup down and turning to face Elizabeth.  
  
"I thought we were having a conversation." Elizabeth said dryly.  
  
"Right." Romano muttered, clearly trying to keep his voice level. "You want to hear something about a rough day?"  
  
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow but said nothing. Robert didn't need more to have the flood gates opened.  
  
"I was demoted!" he spat. "Demoted!"  
  
Elizabeth was taken aback. She hadn't expected that one coming. Of course she had sensed something was going on, but now that it came it seemed so sudden. Robert seemed to enraged, and Elizabeth could only silently agree with him.  
  
"You heard me." Romano continued, when Elizabeth didn't seem to be able to manage a reply. "Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff, all gone." He paused to take in a deep, frustrated breath. "And do you want to hear where they put me?"  
  
Elizabeth didn't know what to say, but Robert didn't seem to need any encouragement after getting started.  
  
"Head of ER! That's where they put me. ER! Of all the rotten places and positions in this town."  
  
"Robert" Elizabeth tried to hush him.  
  
Romano kicked a chair in front him, then fell down on it and sat in silence for a long time. Elizabeth didn't know how to approach him.  
  
Finally she leaned forward on her own chair and whispered gently: "I'm sorry, Robert", but she knew it sounded pathetic.  
  
Romano looked up with an expressionless face. "I bet you are." There was a short pause. "I'd put my money on it that they'll make you the next Chief of Surgery.I wouldn't blame them if they did."  
  
That possibility hadn't yet even crossed Elizabeth's mind. She sat back and tried to take in the information, but Romano stood up and headed for the door. His hand was already on the door handle when Elizabeth suddenly raced after him and, before thinking, placed her hand on top of his on the handle.  
  
Robert stiffened. Elizabeth could hear him taking in a deep breath. She quickly let go of his hand and muttered something unintelligible to her toes. But she could see her action had had the desired effect as Robert let go of the door handle and moved past Elizabeth to return to his seat.  
  
Elizabeth didn't follow him, but stood still for a while, gathering her thoughts. She couldn't explain herself why she had not wanted to let Robert go. She didn't even know what she should say to him.  
  
In the meanwhile, Romano seemed to have fixed his gaze on something that was lying on the chair Elizabeth had just been sitting on. She soon realized it was her ring that she had left there when she had raced after Romano. Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh. This was clearly a day when everything was set to go wrong.  
  
Finally Robert broke the silence, a hint of his old sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"You should be more careful with your ring, Lizzie. I can't always be around to retrieve it for you."  
  
"Actually."Elizabeth started, hesitating a little. "I - I took it away on purpose."  
  
She returned to her seat and picked up the ring. Absentmindedly she almost put it back in her finger before she caught herself at it and quickly placed the ring in her pocket.  
  
"Ah, so I take it you are offering me a new job as your personal ring retriever, not wanting to keep the thing in the same place all the time." Robert retorted. Then he seemed to sigh before he continued, "Well, considering the options, I might even take the job." He sounded bitter.  
  
"Robert." Elizabeth started, but couldn't find anything to say. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know how. There was the line she didn't want to cross. Or did she? An awkward silence fell between them.  
  
"Elizabeth, you don't have to do this." Robert suddenly said, breaking the silence.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Sit here with me, trying to think of something to say that would make me feel better but would still be meaningless." He stood up again and this time made a quick exit before Elizabeth could even realize he was on his way out.  
  
Elizabeth sighed. She was relieved to be alone again, yet unhappy about how her conversation with Robert had gone. She had wanted to help, but has she only made him feel worse? Did he think she only pitied him? She didn't even know it herself whether it was pity or something else that she was feeling. and if it wasn't pity, then what was it? 


	3. A Challenging Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and I'm not trying to make any profit by using them.  
  
Thank you all for your great feedback! Please, keep the reviews coming, it always gives me more inspiration to write.  
  
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The rest of the day was a nightmare for Elizabeth. At least half of all the residents in the Chicago area seemed to have developed some sort of trauma that day and Elizabeth had barely time to breath while running from one patient to another. It would have been exhausting enough even if she had managed to sleep well the previous night, but as she hadn't, the day proved to be almost unbearable.  
  
'Well,' Elizabeth sighed to herself while changing her clothes after the day's last surgery. 'At least I haven't had any time to think about Robert for the last..'  
  
Elizabeth paused, and then cursed silently under her breath:  
  
'Damn Robert'  
  
The mention of Romano's name had brought it to her mind that there were some files in his office that she needed to get before the weekend. She wouldn't be on call on either Saturday or Sunday, but Robert had piled some paperwork for her that she had resolved to take home with her.  
  
But Elizabeth knew it wasn't the work that bothered her, for she would have plenty of time to get it all done over the weekend. It was the fact that she would have to venture to Romano's office to get the damn papers that made her uncomfortable. She had been successfully avoiding him all day and now it seemed it would all come to nothing.  
  
'What a perfect ending for a perfect day', Elizabeth muttered to herself sarcastically, taking a deep resigned breath as she left the women's locker room.  
  
On her way to the dreaded office, Elizabeth's mind was working furiously on a plan of action: She would go in.No, she would knock, then she would go in, meet his gaze levelly and explain quickly that she had come for the files they had been talking about. Then she would take the papers, avoiding his glance, and excuse herself. If he tried to talk, she would say she was busy to get home. No awkward silences or lingering looks.  
  
Outside of the office Elizabeth came to a halt. She noticed that the door looked somehow different this time. Robert's name that had still stood there the last time she had been in his office had been removed. For some unexplainable reason the sight saddened Elizabeth, but she quickly told herself off of getting too emotional. She was about to enter Robert's office and the last thing she wanted was to get all emotional again.  
  
Elizabeth was just about to knock on the door, when it finally dawned to her that the room seemed to be dark. It hadn't even occurred to her before that Robert might already have left. It was an unexpected relief, or it should have been, but for some reason Elizabeth began to wonder if she was actually feeling a bit disappointed.  
  
Ridiculous. She was just tired and if she was disappointed, it was because she now wouldn't be able to carry out the plan she been working on, on her way there.  
  
After a moment of deliberation, Elizabeth decided to knock on the door nevertheless. 'Better safe than sorry', she told herself.  
  
There was no answer. Slowly, Elizabeth opened the door, as if still fearing Robert would be hiding behind it, ready to give her a good scare. For some reason this thought brought a smile to her lips, the first genuine one of the day. But the room was empty. Or at least it was empty of people. There were, however, numerous boxes lying around the floor, and it looked like most of the books and items in the had been packed in them. Another reminder of the fact that Robert had indeed been demoted and was moving out of his office. The smile died on her lips.  
  
Elizabeth began to wonder if she would ever find the necessary files from the mess she was facing, but to her great relief she soon noticed a neat pile of papers on one corner of Romano's desk. They were the very files she needed, Robert had not forgotten about them. Elizabeth quickly crossed the room and was just about to reach for the papers when she heard Romano's husky voice whispering in her ear:  
  
"Came to investigate my private belongings, Lizzie?"  
  
Elizabeth jumped and almost screamed out loud at the unexpected arrival of her boss. 'Former boss', she mentally corrected herself as soon as she was able to breath again. He must have sneaked in right behind her and she had been too preoccupied to notice anything.  
  
"W-What are you doing in here?" Elizabeth managed to stammer after taking a few more breaths, turning to face Robert.  
  
A small smile played on his lips.  
  
"I believe this is still my office." He said. "Unless, of course, I have been misinformed." he added, leaning on the desk with his good arm, getting much closer to Elizabeth than what she could be comfortable with in her present state of mind.  
  
Elizabeth blushed. She took a little step away from Robert, but found her way being blocked by a huge box on the floor.  
  
"I didn't scare you, did I?" Romano continued playfully, leaving his position and moving behind his desk, taking a seat.  
  
"No", Elizabeth replied curtly and, getting back her composure, seized the pile of papers she had come to get in the first place. "I just came to get these files", she mumbled, and started browsing them through to get her mind elsewhere. Robert didn't say anything.  
  
After a while, Elizabeth finally lifted her eyes from the files. "Right...", she started. "I - I guess this is it, then."  
  
Romano was contemplating her with an unreadable expression, but said nothing. He certainly seemed know how to make her uncomfortable.  
  
"I think I'll be heading home now." Elizabeth added, when there was no reply. "Good night!"  
  
She turned to leave, but Robert's voice caught her before she could exit the room.  
  
"Leaving so soon?", he asked, as if Elizabeth hadn't just been talking about leaving.  
  
With a sigh, Elizabeth turned to face him once more. This was getting frustrating.  
  
"Look", she said. "This has been a long day and I'm exhausted. I really need to get home." She didn't want to get into yet another awkward conversation with Robert. One per day was more than enough for her.  
  
Romano didn't seem to be paying much attention to her words. Instead, he lifted up a bottle of scotch from his drawer and continued:  
  
"I was hoping you'd join me for a drink." He paused, then continued, looking down. "For the old times' sake."  
  
Elizabeth looked at him, not sure of how to answer. She felt she could indeed use a drink after the hectic day, but she was hesitant to stay with Robert for any longer than she had to. It clearly wasn't good for her. Yet, a part of her also hated the thought of leaving him all alone, knowing full well that if she had had a bad day, Romano's day had probably been even worse.  
  
"Look." she began, but was interrupted by Robert:  
  
"Come on, Lizzie. This is your last change! Next time you come to this office you'll find yourself sipping orange juice with Weaver."  
  
Elizabeth snorted and finally gave in. Robert seemed to be in a playful mood and that was something she could deal with. Besides, she had recently called home and she had been told that Ella was fine, so there was no real reason to hurry home immediately.  
  
"Fine, Robert." She replied with a small smile. "But don't expect me to stay for long."  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it." Robert replied, but seemed satisfied as he pulled out two glasses and filled them with the whisky. In the meanwhile, Elizabeth took a seat opposite Romano, wondering what she had gotten herself into and suddenly remembering the many times she had sat on the very chair feeling far less uncomfortable than now. She was, however, soon brought back to present, when Romano handed her the drink with a quick "Here you go, Lizzie".  
  
Their fingers met briefly as Elizabeth took the glass from Robert's hand. The short touch sent a shiver down her spine and the shock made her draw her hand away as soon as she could do it without dropping the glass. Damn Robert. Elizabeth leaned back on her chair, putting as much distance between herself and Robert as possible, and then fixed her eyes on her drink, trying to avoid his gaze.  
  
"You don't have to look at it like it was poisoned", Romano spoke after a short silence, nodding towards Elizabeth's drink. If the touch had made him feel anything, he was hiding it well. "I thought you'd know you're not on the top of my 'to poison' -list."  
  
With that, he gave a little grin and drained his own glass with one big swig, then put it back on the table.  
  
"See?"  
  
"How very relieving," Elizabeth snorted, but gave a little half smile and ventured to look up again before taking a sip of her own drink. A mistake. The strength and taste of the liquid made her cringe as she swallowed it. This seemed to amuse Robert.  
  
"That bad, huh?", he asked, refilling his own glass.  
  
"Never trust a surgeon," Elizabeth breathed, setting the rest of her drink on the desk. "If this isn't poison, I wonder what is!"  
  
"It's the first sip that always tastes the worst", Robert replied meekly. "I'm sure you can do better than that."  
  
"Is that a challenge?" Elizabeth asked, loosening up a little.  
  
"If you're up for it."  
  
"Robert, you should know by now that I'm always up for a challenge.", Elizabeth retorted, taking another sip of her drink to prove her point. This time she made sure she wouldn't cringe.  
  
"You're learning." Robert said teasingly as he watched Elizabeth put down her glass and take a deep breath. "Will you let me refill this for you?" he then asked, taking the glass and refilling it before Elizabeth could say anything.  
  
"If I didn't know better, Robert, I'd say you are trying to." Elizabeth started, but was cut short by Romano.  
  
"You need a full glass so that we can have toast."  
  
"A toast?" Elizabeth asked. "For what?"  
  
"Anything." Romano replied lightly. "Does there always have to be a reason?"  
  
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Well, if you put it like that.", she said, reaching out for her glass.  
  
It didn't seem like she would be able to escape anytime soon, so Elizabeth resolved to try to enjoy herself instead.  
TBC 


	4. Is It Okay If I Call You Tomorrow?

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of these characters. They all belong to other parties and I'm just using them for my own personal amusement, which doesn't involve making any money.  
  
Thank you everyone who has reviewed. It means a lot to me, so keep the feedback coming! For those who are asking for more Cordano love, I can only quote Elizabeth: "You have to be patient!". ;)  
  
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About an hour later Elizabeth stood up, feeling slightly dizzy. She was surprised of how pleasantly the hour had passed in Robert's company. They had kept their conversation in safe topics, both clearly willing to avoid any awkward moments between them. But it was getting late and as much as a part of her would have wanted to stay, Elizabeth knew she would have to get home now if she wanted to see Ella before her bedtime.  
  
Robert looked disappointed when Elizabeth announced that she was leaving.  
  
"Is there nothing I can do to make you to stay a little longer?", he asked, knowing full well that when Elizabeth had decided something the decision wasn't easily shaken.  
  
"No, Robert. I think I've had more than is good for me already." She retorted, then added with a smile: "And, quite frankly, so have you."  
  
"Always the spoilsport", Robert sighed resignedly, getting up of his chair. "But if you insist on leaving, I think I'll be heading out as well."  
  
He took a couple of unsteady steps and almost stumbled on a box that was lying on the floor.  
  
"Don't tell me you are with a car, Robert." Elizabeth said, being all too well aware of the fact that Robert Romano never went anywhere without his Jaguar.  
  
"Worried about me, huh?" Robert was staggering his way through the boxes as he spoke, trying to make his way to Elizabeth who already was standing near the door.  
  
"No, I am only worried about the people you will knock over if you start driving now", she replied dryly, hiding any concern she might have felt.  
  
Robert feigned a pout and sighed heavily. "And here I was thinking you actually cared for me!"  
  
"Well, I'm relieved to know you still are thinking." Elizabeth shot back, making a face at his back as he was pulling on his coat.  
  
"So, what do you suggest then?" Robert asked, ignoring Elizabeth's last remark as he was battling with his coat, trying to get his left arm in.  
  
"Huh?" Elizabeth had been watching Romano's struggle with the evil coat and hadn't paid any attention to his words.  
  
"What do you suggest? Your place or mine?"  
  
"I beg you pardon?!" Elizabeth could hardly believe her ears.  
  
Robert chuckled, finally managing to get the coat on.  
  
"I just had to make sure you were listening." he explained calmly. "I was asking what do you think I should do with the car."  
  
"Oh" Elizabeth blushed slightly. The last drink had probably been too much for her. "Um.I think you should leave it here and take a cab."  
  
"Sounds reasonable." Robert admitted. "But what about you?"  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"How are you planning to get home?"  
  
Elizabeth hadn't really thought of it, but she didn't think there'd be a problem since she didn't have a car with her anyway.  
  
"As you might know, there are people who actually use the public transport." She therefore replied without much hesitation.  
  
Robert frowned.  
  
"Oh, did I just lose your good opinion by confessing I don't always have a car with me?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically after noticing his expression.  
  
"No", Robert retorted. "But don't expect me to let you go there all alone in the dark after all the drinks you have had."  
  
Elizabeth realized he was being serious. Maybe it was the alcohol that was making her emotional, but at that moment she found his concern quite touching.  
  
"Are you worried about me?", she asked softly.  
  
Robert seemed to contemplate her question for a second, then his lips curved into a grin.  
  
"No. I'm only worried about the people you will knock over if you have to run to catch the train."  
  
Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest and managed to look indignant for a second before breaking into laughter.  
  
"I guess I deserved that one." She finally admitted.  
  
"You certainly did" Romano replied simply.  
  
"But actually." he then continued in a more serious note "I meant what I said earlier. I don't think you should take the train. You could come with me."  
  
"In a cab?"  
  
"No, on top of an elephant - of course I mean in a cab!"  
  
"But we live in totally different directions!" Elizabeth protested.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, if I were to take a cab, don't you think it would be better to just take two cabs and go our separate ways?"  
  
Robert sighed. There seemed to be no point in resisting.  
  
"Whatever you say, Lizzie"  
  
"I'm glad you think that way." Elizabeth smirked, opening the door as she spoke. "Now, shall we go?"  
  
"Ladies first." Romano offered, standing back to let Elizabeth pass first.  
  
She raised a quizzical eyebrow.  
  
"I had no idea you could be such a gentleman."  
  
"There's a lot about me you don't know."  
  
Elizabeth could only silently agree with him as she stepped out of the office, closely followed by Romano who stayed behind to lock the door. She walked slowly towards the elevators, suddenly beginning to wonder why she had never bothered to find out more about Robert before. She now realized she had no idea what he was like outside of his office and outside of the hospital. She didn't know what he liked to do when he had spare time and if he had any hobbies. She wasn't even sure if he had any close friends. The list of unanswered questions seemed endless and it slowly began to dawn on Elizabeth that she knew absolutely nothing of the man she had been working with for almost six years. She had had many chances to get to know him better, but she had never used them.  
  
Silently Elizabeth reached the elevator doors and she stood there in her thoughts until Romano finally joined her again. Elizabeth was startled out of her reverie as she heard his voice from behind her.  
  
"Lizzie!"  
  
Elizabeth looked up to see Robert coming to a halt beside her.  
  
"Have you lost your 'Elevator for Dummies' -manual or did you just forget to press the button?" he snapped as he proceeded to press the 'down' -button.  
  
Elizabeth was embarrassed to realize she hadn't ordered the elevator, even though she had been standing right before it for a while already. Damn it. She would have to get a grip of herself and stop drifting off to her own thoughts in Robert's company or she would never hear the end of it.  
  
"I just wanted to save you the pleasure." She finally retorted to get back her dignity.  
  
Robert seemed to be ready to shoot back his response, but he never had the change to deliver it, because at that moment the elevator doors flew open and they suddenly found themselves face to face with Kerry Weaver.  
  
"Ah, Kerry!" Robert cried, feigning excitement. "Just the person I was not looking for."  
  
"Elizabeth, Robert" Weaver greeted, sounding somewhat reserved.  
  
For a moment it looked like she was going to pass them both by without any further notice, but then she suddenly came to a halt, looking at Romano incredulously. Elizabeth realized she must have smelled the alcohol in their breaths and quickly looked away, but Robert didn't seem to be so easily intimidated.  
  
"Anything I can do for you, Kerry?" he asked with a smirk. "Because whatever it is, the answer is no."  
  
"Have you been drinking, Dr. Romano?", Weaver asked, ignoring his comment.  
  
"Drinking at work? Me?" Romano replied innocently. "Kerry, I'm disappointed to hear you could even suspect something like that of me." Then he turned to Elizabeth. "Dr. Corday here can confirm that we only shared a glass or two of orange juice in my office."  
  
Elizabeth coughed to hide her chuckle and then tried to reach a lever voice to convince Weaver that that was indeed the case.  
  
"See?" Romano snapped before Kerry could open her mouth again. "Now, if you will excuse us. We don't want to miss the elevator."  
  
With that, he quickly dragged Elizabeth with him to the elevator, leaving a wordless Weaver on the other side of the gliding doors.  
  
"Bitch", Robert snapped as soon as the elevator was moving.  
  
"Robert!" Elizabeth protested, but didn't manage to sound very convincing.  
  
"Oh, don't bother. You know that's exactly what she is."  
  
Elizabeth didn't reply. Robert was right. She had never liked Kerry and probably never would. It would just be hypocritical of her to try to stop others from calling her names.  
  
"Do you think she will get us into trouble?" Elizabeth asked instead, remembering that Kerry now was the Chief of Staff and had the power to make their lives miserable if she wanted. In fact, she already had made Robert's life miserable. The bitch.  
  
"What? For drinking? She can't prove anything", Robert replied lightly. "And even if she could, there's still the fact that neither of us were on call or treating patients."  
  
"You're probably right", Elizabeth agreed, relaxing and yawning. She was beginning to feel increasingly tired and she had no wish to think about Kerry Weaver any longer.  
  
The elevator soon stopped and the doors opened. This time they had reached the ground floor without any interruptions.  
  
They were both silent as they stepped out and proceeded to walk outside. Elizabeth had finally been overcome by sleepiness and she found herself too tired to keep up the conversation. Robert, on the other hand, seemed to be too deep in his own thoughts to talk. Or maybe he was tired too, Elizabeth couldn't tell. Once she was almost certain she had caught him staring at herself, but he had quickly averted his eyes and turned to look at something that was on the other side of the road. He seemed to be slowly descending back into moodiness again.  
  
For a while they walked quietly down the street. Then Robert finally managed to stop a cab.  
  
"You're tired", he said quietly once the cab had been secured. "You can take this one."  
  
Elizabeth didn't have much will to protest, but she was also hesitant to leave Robert all alone in his current mood.  
  
"What about you?" she asked softly.  
  
"I'll take the next one", he shrugged, looking away.  
  
"You promise?" Elizabeth asked, trying to make Robert meet her eyes. "I don't want you to even consider going to take your car as soon as I'm gone."  
  
"Well, I wasn't going to, but now that you brought it up..." he replied a bit more lightly.  
  
"Robert!"  
  
"Oh, right, you're thinking about the people I will knock over again, aren't you?"  
  
There was something in Robert's voice that alarmed Elizabeth.  
  
"No", she pleaded. "I'm thinking about you. I don't want you to get hurt." Elizabeth no longer cared if she sounded worried. Robert seemed moody, probably due to the drinking, and she wasn't sure what he was up to. She had a right to be worried, she told herself.  
  
Robert finally looked into Elizabeth's eyes and held her gaze for a while. Then he sighed.  
  
"All right, I will promise", he finally said.  
  
Elizabeth had barely time to register her relief when Romano suddenly continued:  
  
"Um...Elizabeth?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Uh...You have tomorrow off, right?  
  
There it was. He was going to ask her out. Elizabeth cursed herself for having shown too much concern for him. She should have known he would mistake it for something else. But what else could she have done?  
  
Robert seemed to be waiting for some kind of confirmation, so Elizabeth nodded, dreading for what would come next.  
  
"I was just wondering if I could.." he trailed off. "I mean, if you wouldn't mind me calling you tomorrow?"  
  
Elizabeth looked at Robert in surprise. "Calling me?"  
  
"Yeah." Robert nodded, his mood seemingly lifting again. "I trust you are familiar with the telephone?"  
  
"Of course I am, Robert!" Elizabeth retorted. She could only wonder why she was suddenly feeling almost disappointed. She should have been relieved that Robert was not asking her out. She was relieved, Elizabeth told herself firmly. Of course she was.  
  
"So?" Robert was still waiting for her answer.  
  
"Um..No, I don't think I would mind." Elizabeth finally replied, stretching her words. Then she pulled herself together and smiled.  
  
"Actually, I'd be happy to hear from you, to know you got home safely." She continued more assuredly. After all, it was just a phone call. What harm could it do to anyone?  
  
Robert seemed satisfied. For a moment Elizabeth almost thought he returned her smile, but the moment didn't last for long. He quickly bid her good night and helped her into the cab before disappearing into the night.  
  
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TBC 


	5. Waking Up

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, I'm just using them for a bit of fun.  
  
Thank you all for your feedback. I'm sorry that this chapter has taken a bit longer to write than the previous ones, but I've been a bit busy elsewhere. Please R/R.  
  
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The next morning Elizabeth woke up to the demanding noises coming from the direction of Ella's room. It was 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning, but as much as Elizabeth would have wished to continue her sleep, she had to get up to check on her daughter.  
  
"I'm coming!" Elizabeth muttered sleepily, stretching and blocking her eyes from the rays of the raising sun that were already shining through the window. It was a beautiful morning and were she not suffering from a little hangover, Elizabeth might even have enjoyed it, regardless of the early hour, but now the bright light was only hurting her eyes.  
  
"Mama!" Ella greeted her mother excitedly, jumping up an down on her bed when Elizabeth finally entered the room. "Mama, mama, mama!" , she chanted.  
  
Elizabeth lifted Ella up from the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead.  
  
"Good morning, my sunshine. Mom's a bit tired this morning."  
  
"No" Ella protested, looking at Elizabeth accusingly.  
  
"Yes" Elizabeth replied with a yawn before placing another kiss on Ella's face.  
  
"Mama always tired."  
  
Elizabeth smiled regretfully. Ella was right. She spent too much time at work and when she was at home she was usually very tired. It was something Elizabeth often regretted, but there was nothing she could do about it. Somebody had to do the work and since Robert was disabled, it was she who had to do most of the surgical operations.  
  
But this weekend would be different. She would spend two days at home with Ella, for they both needed the time together.  
  
"Very well. I'm awake. Mom won't be tired today." Elizabeth assured Ella and then carried her to the bathroom to give her a bath before it was time to get dressed and have breakfast.  
  
This way the morning passed pleasantly, and it was only a little before midday when Elizabeth remembered Robert again.  
  
He hadn't called yet, but Elizabeth assured herself that it was probably just because he was still sleeping. After all, he didn't have a two-year- old to wake him up at ungodly hours during the weekends. Elizabeth looked at Ella who was sitting on the floor, playing with her dolls, and she began to wonder how Ella and Robert would get along if they met. It was all hypothetical thinking of course, as Elizabeth told herself, because it wasn't likely that the two would ever meet, other than briefly at the hospital from time to time, but it was an interesting thought nevertheless. Now there was yet another thing to be added on the long list of things that Elizabeth didn't know about Robert: Was he good with children? She knew for a fact he wasn't good with grown-ups, but children were different, and Elizabeth had sometimes witnessed Robert being kind to little patients when he thought no-one was watching....  
  
Another hour passed with no call from Robert. Elizabeth began to twist a bit uncomfortably in her chair while she was watching Ella play. What if something had happened to Robert? Surely he would have gotten up by now if everything was alright. But then again, Elizabeth had to remind herself, she had no reason to expect that he'd call her the first thing in the morning. He might just as well have decided to wait until the evening. Or maybe he had forgotten about it altogether. Why did she have to be so worked up about it anyway? It was just a bloody phone call.  
  
Finally Elizabeth got up, deciding it was time to have some lunch. Not that she was feeling particularly hungry, but Ella would probably need something to eat before her daily nap, and she herself needed something else to think about. Her obsession with Robert was becoming unhealthy. Elizabeth realized she was thinking about him far too much for her own good.  
  
She took Ella with her to the kitchen and they were just about to start eating when the phone finally rang. At first Elizabeth stiffened, then she jumped up and rushed to the telephone, much to the delight of Ella who seemed to find her mother's sudden leap highly amusing. The child's giggles brought Elizabeth back to her senses and she paused to gather her breath before picking up the phone:  
  
"Hello?" She spoke to the telephone.  
  
There was a short silence, then a quiet: "Elizabeth?"  
  
It was Robert. Elizabeth couldn't mistake that voice.  
  
"Robert!" she replied.  
  
"Hi," he greeted in a firmer voice. "I wasn't quite sure if you remembered the conversation we had last night..when I asked if I could call you today."  
  
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "What? You thought I was that drunk?"  
  
"Well, you seemed a bit tired...."  
  
"I was, but not unconscious!"  
  
There was a silence again. Both seemed willing to talk more, but for a while nothing was said.  
  
"So... how did you get home last night?" Elizabeth finally asked, determined to keep a level head in the conversation this time.  
  
"I walked."  
  
"Walked?" Elizabeth couldn't hide her astonishment. "Isn't it a bit of a long way to walk?"  
  
This finally opened the conversation. Robert snorted.  
  
"You seem to forget, my dear, that I still have two perfectly good legs, and as I'm planning to keep them functional I decided to use them, so-"  
  
"Robert, I didn't mean to imply that....", Elizabeth started, but then it hit her that Robert had just called her his 'dear'. That wasn't the worst part of the realisation, however: Elizabeth knew she should have been affronted that he was taking such a liberty, but to her own astonishment she was not. In fact, she found she had almost liked the sound of it. Something had to be very seriously wrong with her.  
  
Robert, however, had either not noticed his slip at all or had used the endearment intentionally for reasons Elizabeth did not wish to think about, because he continued as if nothing special had been said:  
  
"So, I walked all the way home last night, and this morning I walked back to the County to get my car."  
  
Elizabeth registered Romano's words, but wasn't able to reply at once. The silence finally caught Robert's attention.  
  
"Lizzie? You still with me?"  
  
"Uh....Yes." Elizabeth mumbled, deciding to drop the subject of endearments. Robert was probably just being Robert and hadn't meant anything by it anyway. She'd better turn her attention back to the conversation. "So, you were saying you walked...."  
  
"Ten points, Lizzie! And here I was thinking you weren't listening at all and I'd have to start all over again."  
  
"Of course I was listening!" Elizabeth protested. "I- I just didn't expect you to get up so early and walk through the city only to get your car. I thought you'd sleep late when you had the chance. I know I would have."  
  
"You have obviously never had a dog, then" Robert replied with a snort. "They need to be taken out every morning, early, weekend or no weekend."  
  
"Not so different from having a toddler then." Elizabeth retorted, glancing at Ella who was stuffing food to her mouth and decorating the rest of her face with it in the process.  
  
"I guess so. I take it, then, that you didn't get too much sleep either?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
Suddenly a new idea began to form in Elizabeth's head, and no matter how crazy she told herself it was, she decided to pursue it: Ella would soon have finished her meal and then she would have to go take a nap, while Elizabeth herself hadn't even touched her food yet. This would leave her in want of some company while eating. Elizabeth had to admit herself she would probably end up thinking about Robert anyway, if she was left alone, so she might just as well invite him to come over for lunch.  
  
"Elizabeth?" Robert's voice brought Elizabeth's mind back to the conversation at hand. "You seem a bit distracted today. Are you sure I'm not interrupting anything?"  
  
"No, no, not at all. Why would you think that?" She hastened to reassure Robert.  
  
"I just thought maybe you have some other company since you only seem to be keeping half of your attention in this conversation."  
  
Robert sounded grumpy, leading Elizabeth to wonder whether he thought she was entertaining a man in the house or if he was just generally displeased by the lack of attention. She smiled mischievously. Maybe she could, for once, toy with Robert a bit.  
  
"No" She finally replied, stretching the word. "But I am actually expecting someone."  
  
"Oh." Romano replied curtly. "Well, maybe I shouldn't keep you any longer then..."  
  
The disappointment in Robert's voice, even though clearly attempted to conceal, encouraged Elizabeth to continue.  
  
"You are not interested in finding out who I am expecting?"  
  
"Quite frankly; no. It's probably some tall and handsome geek of a doctor you met somewhere." He replied grumpily. "Just don't tell me it's that annoying blue-eyed jerk...what's his name again?"  
  
"You mean Dr. Dorset?."  
  
"Yeah, that Blasted Eddie."  
  
"Fast Eddie."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Elizabeth smiled. "No, I wasn't talking about him."  
  
"Well, I'm glad to hear it."  
  
"Actually..." Elizabeth continued. "I'm not sure yet if this man is coming at all."  
  
"He'd be a fool if he didn't."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So, you will come then?"  
  
There was stunned silence. Elizabeth smiled triumphantly. For once she had managed to make Robert Romano speechless.  
  
Finally Robert found his voice again:  
  
"W-What did you just say?"  
  
"Well, the thing is that I was just going to have lunch with Ella when you called, and now it looks like Ella will be finished before I can even get started, so I was thinking maybe you could come over to keep me company instead. Besides, I'm afraid I made a bit too much food and it looks like we might need a third to finish it." Elizabeth tried to sound casual, but despite her recent success in teasing Robert, she was beginning to get a bit nervous about the idea.  
  
Yet another silence. Robert was probably either contemplating the offer or simply too surprised by it to say anything.  
  
"Well...." He finally started. "I haven't had anything to eat yet..."  
  
"Shall I take that as a yes?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.  
  
"If you're sure about this, then...yes." Robert replied after a short pause.  
  
"Good. Can you come right away?" Elizabeth wanted to finish the conversation quickly before she would start getting second thoughts.  
  
"I'll be there in a minute."  
  
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I'll see you then."  
  
With that, they both hung up and Elizabeth took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what she was getting herself into, but she couldn't regret the decision to invite him over. For the last few days she had been thinking about Robert a lot more than was healthy for her, and she had finally come to the conclusion that she could no longer just shrug it all off as some sort of a mental disturbance that would wear off in a couple of days. Something was happening to her and she was planning to find out what it was. 


	6. The Lunch

Disclaimer: No, I _still don't own ER or any of its characters, I'm just borrowing._

Thanks everyone for the reviews. Sorry it has taken me so long to update, but I've been a bit 'stuck' with this story lately, not really knowing which path to take with it as it was originally supposed to be just one chapter and I hadn't planned a continuation. I still don't have the future of this story figured out, so basically I'm just writing and seeing where the characters are going (which should be interesting, knowing how difficult both Lizzie and Romano can be ;)).

There's also another reason it took me so long to write this chapter: it just grew out to be so damn long…I hope you won't get bored. =)

Oh, and one more thing: I'm just assuming here that "Fast Eddie" Dorsett has a real name and that it's 'Edward'…

Please R&R

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 **The Lunch**

Elizabeth returned to the table, shaking her head slightly as she sat down. Ella was finishing her meal, having made a mess in the kitchen, but Elizabeth barely noticed it as her thoughts were still in the conversation she had had with Robert. 

"Who was it?" Ella asked, her mouth still full of food.

"Just a friend of mommy's from work." Elizabeth replied with a smile

"Will mommy go to work?" There was disappointment in Ella's voice.

"No, dearest." Elizabeth assured the little girl. "It wasn't about work."

Ella looked satisfied and returned her attention to her plate, which by now was nearly empty.

"Are you finished already?" Elizabeth asked after a short while, picking up some of the food that had found its way on the table.

Ella nodded, stuffing the last bits of food from her plate into her mouth.

Elizabeth instantly got up to wipe Ella's face and to her chagrin she noticed that even the floor hadn't been spared.

"I see you have found an appropriate place for all your vegetables too." She noted sarcastically, pointing at a piece of cabbage on the floor.

Ella giggled and nodded again.

Elizabeth only shook her head and started cleaning up the mess. Normally she would not have let Ella get away so easily, but this time she had other things in her mind and she only wanted to get Ella to bed and the kitchen cleaned before Robert's arrival.

Ella looked at her mother suspiciously. Surely there had to be some punishment coming? But Elizabeth only smiled at her puzzled expression and continued wiping the floor.

"Is mommy sick?" Ella asked, frowning.

"No, mommy's not sick" Elizabeth replied. "But…" she continued, looking up, "…mommy wants Ella to go to bed now."

"No!" Ella protested, her frown turning into a pout.

"Yes." Elizabeth insisted, straightening her back as the wiping was now done. "Little girls need to get enough sleep if they want to grow big and healthy, especially if they don't eat their vegetables."

Ella still pouted and tried to resist, but Elizabeth calmly picked her up and carried upstairs to where her room was. It took Elizabeth a while to make Ella take her nap, but finally she managed to lull her into sleep, promising they would watch cartoons on TV later. Elizabeth sighed in relief when Ella finally shut her eyes and slowly drifted into sleep with a satisfied smile on her little face.

About half an hour had now passed after Robert's call and he could be expected to arrive any minute. As soon as she was certain that Ella had fallen asleep, Elizabeth hurried downstairs to the kitchen where the table had to be set for two. She was almost done when the doorbell finally rang. Elizabeth quickly finished the table before rushing to the hall. There she stopped for a while to gather her breath and to make some final adjustments on her appearance in front of the mirror.

Then she moved on to open the door.

Robert was standing there on the porch, dressed casually in dark jeans and a T-shirt. His left hand was in the sling and with his right hand he was holding a bottle wine. To Elizabeth's satisfaction he looked slightly uncomfortable, while she herself had somehow managed to gain more confidence by turning the tables and making the first invitation.

They greeted each other slightly awkwardly with casual 'hellos' before Robert seemed to get back his normal demeanor.

"I couldn't think of anything else to bring on such a short notice." He noted, lifting up the bottle in his right hand. "Basically, it was either this or dog food and I thought you'd appreciate the wine more."

Elizabeth smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you, but you really wouldn't have needed to bother at all."

She moved aside from the doorway to let Robert in. He shoved the bottle to Elizabeth and then closed the door behind him. A short silence ensued, but it was soon broken by Romano:

"A nice house you have here", he commented, looking around.

"Yeah, it's quite comfortable. Mark…" Elizabeth cut her sentence short. She had been on the verge of saying something about how Mark had bought the house for them, but for some reason it just didn't seem like a good idea to talk about Mark with Romano. Elizabeth wasn't quite sure, though, why it was so, because it was long since she had had problems talking about Mark with other people.

Robert, however, chose to act as if he hadn't heard anything and he started turning around as if to get a better look of the house. But then he came to a halt. Elizabeth looked over his shoulder to see what had caught his attention and she noticed that he was looking at a picture of herself and Mark together with baby Ella. The picture had been taken soon after Ella's birth and both she and Mark looked particularly happy in it. Elizabeth wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything that would make any sense. Of course there should be no need for her to justify the existence of the picture. It was ridiculous that she even felt she should somehow excuse it. Robert, however, saved her the trouble of thinking of the proper thing to say. He turned around, looking as if he had seen nothing interesting.

"So, where's Ella?" he asked casually to change the subject. "Are you hiding her from me?"

Elizabeth let out her breath.

"No, Robert." she snorted, relaxing. "She is upstairs, taking a nap."

"I see." Romano replied, searching for another topic. Then he finally seemed to remember the reason he had come for in the first place.

 "I thought you said something about lunch", he noted. "Was that just a cheap trick to get me here or is there actually something that a grown man could eat in this house?"

"Grown?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow while her lips curved into a teasing smile. No matter how awkward she was feeling, she was always ready to hide it in a bit of a snark with Robert. 

Romano, who apparently had known what to expect, had already put up a pouty face:

"Seriously, Lizzie, I thought you would by now have _grown_ out of that habit of making fun of people who are not as fortunate as you." He made his voice sound very heart-broken, making it hard for Elizabeth to maintain a straight face.

"I didn't say anything to offend you, did I?" she asked innocently, grateful for the relishing turn in the conversation.

"You didn't answer my question. Now that's what I find offending." Romano retorted.

Elizabeth could only roll her eyes and smile. After a short pause Robert returned to a more serious note:

"So, is there or is there not any food in the house?" he asked. "I'm actually starving."

Elizabeth sighed. "Yes, there is and it's all ready", she replied. "Satisfied?"

"Very."

Without any further ado Elizabeth lead the way to the kitchen and the two sat down in silence. It was only after they had both filled their plates that Elizabeth realized she hadn't thought about Robert's arm while setting the table. She had placed the fork on the left hand's side.

"I'm sorry." She muttered in embarrassment, while Robert reached out his right hand to grab the fork from the other side of the plate. "I should have thought about…"

"What?" Robert snapped. "That I'm disabled and therefore totally incapable of doing anything by myself?"

"No" Elizabeth replied, looking down at her plate. This response was not enough to convince Romano.

"So, it's true!" he exclaimed, and then continued in a softer tone: "You do think that I am completely useless."

He paused, but when Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, he raised his hand to keep her silent. 

"Is that why you invited me here today?" he asked next, "Out of pity?"

"No!" Elizabeth insisted. "Of course not! I just…"

"You don't have to deny it." Romano spoke quietly, cutting in. "I should have guessed…The good Dr. Corday has taken pity of her helpless, former boss."

"That's not fair! Nor is it true!" Elizabeth was beginning to lose her patience. "Or even if it was, what would be so terribly wrong about it? If I pity you, it's only because I care about you."

Robert chose not to reply, but as he seemed to be listening, Elizabeth decided to continue:

"Look, there are many people I pity; I meet dying patients every day and I meet people who have just lost someone dear. I pity these people, but I don't invite them over to my house to have lunch with me… and you can rest assured I would not have invited you either if I felt nothing but pity for you."

Elizabeth was shocked by her own speech and she quickly looked down to stare at her plate, trying to avoid Robert's eyes and hoping he would not ask what she was feeling for him if it wasn't pity. To Elizabeth's relief, he chose not to ask that question, at least not directly:

"Then why did you invite me?" he inquired after a short silence.

Elizabeth hesitated. She wasn't sure of the answer. She had told herself she wanted company, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't explain why it was Robert of all people who's company she had sought. 

"I – I don't know", she finally uttered.

Robert nodded quietly and after that exchange, nothing more was said for a while. They ate their lunch in silence. A couple of times their eyes would meet over the table, but Elizabeth was always the quickest to look away. Finally, however, she had to admit herself that any conversation would be better than the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry I raised my voice earlier", she started as a peace-offering. 

"It's your house." Robert only replied.

"But you are my guest."

"Yeah. A guest who can't even take the invitation without turning into an issue."

"You had your reasons..." Elizabeth interjected soothingly.

"Right." Robert retorted. Then he smiled.  "So, are we now going start arguing about who gets to take the blame? Because in that case, I'm warning you; I'm going to win this one."

Elizabeth's lips slowly curved into a smile as the discussion was taking yet another turn.

"You want to take a bet?" she asked archly.

"Lizzie, you surprise me." Romano replied in kind. "I didn't know you were into gambling." 

"You started." Elizabeth retorted.

"Okay, okay. I back off." Robert gave in, raising his hands in surrender. "Just make sure you won't slip any pills in my food."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, smiling.

"You don't really think I would do that?"

"Should I trust a surgeon?" Robert only replied, winking slightly as he reached for his glass of wine.

Elizabeth shook her head with a smile and then returned her attention to her plate. 

The lunch passed on without any further complications. They didn't talk much, but this time the silence was friendlier and less awkward. Both were simply concentrating on their food instead of  on trying to search or avoid the other's eyes. 

'I could get used to this', Elizabeth found herself thinking as she kept picking on her food, but then she had to remind herself of how only moments earlier she had been most uncomfortable in the same situation. At least she could be sure about one thing: life was never boring when Robert was around. Sometimes he was just making everything so bloody difficult…or, Elizabeth had to ask herself,  was it she who was making things complicated? 

~~~~

Finally they were both finished with the meal and Romano stood up, seizing his plate. Elizabeth hastened to get up as well.

"I can do that", she blurted before biting off her tongue. Too late.

"I'm not a child, Elizabeth." Robert said challengingly, taking his plate to the sink and then returning to get his glass.

"I didn't mean it like that." Elizabeth sighed, sitting back down.

Robert did not reply.

"Will you take my plate too?" she then asked in an attempt to make up.

Romano did as he was told, but didn't say anything.

"You know, maybe you would like to do the dishes too?" Elizabeth continued as she noticed that Robert was still a bit sulky. "And now that I started thinking about it, someone really ought to use the vacuum around here…and while we're at it, maybe you should also…"

"Okay, okay, I got your point!" Robert exclaimed. Then he looked at Elizabeth and gave a sly little smile. "If you are trying to make me your slave this isn't necessarily the best way to make it happen."

"Oh? Maybe you have a better idea?" Elizabeth asked boldly, getting up from her seat and approaching Romano. She wasn't exactly sure of what she was doing, but whatever it was, she found herself enjoying it.

"I guess I could come up with something..." Robert replied, setting down the dishes.

"Really?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, a playful smile on her lips. "Maybe I should try to seduce you…" she heard Robert gasping for breath as she moved closer. "…with dessert?

"Dessert?" Romano repeated. Then he seemed to realize he had been caught off guard. "What kind of dessert?" he asked casually, returning his attention to the dishes.

"Um…" Elizabeth hesitated. She hadn't really even thought about having any dessert before now.

"Ice cream!" She finally replied, remembering that there should be some of it left in the freezer. 

"What kind?" Romano inquired.

Elizabeth opened the freezer and drew out the package. 

"Cherry" she read aloud and turned to face Robert. "Good enough for you?"

"That, Lizzie, depends of course on how it is served", he replied with an intense look that made Elizabeth suddenly feel very warm despite the cold ice cream in her hands. She began to fear she had gone too far.

Elizabeth turned around to place the package on the table, suddenly wishing she could bury her head in it in order to cool down.  Luckily, the absurdity of the mental image made her chuckle to herself.

"What's so funny?" Romano demanded, looking at her curiously. "Did you accidentally drug your own food instead of mine?"

Elizabeth shook her head, still smiling. 

"No", she replied. "But I think I will skip the ice cream this time. You can have the lot of it." 

Elizabeth picked up a bowl for the dessert from one of the cupboards. 

"Just tell me how much you want." She continued. "Unless, of course, you want to help yourself."

"Nah, I think I'll let you do the honors, just this once", Robert retorted. "I'll scrub in another time."

"Thank you, Dr. Romano" Elizabeth replied, finishing the "operation" as she successfully removed the ice cream from its original package to the bowl in front of her. Then she handed the dessert to Robert, looking away as their hands touched over the bowl for the briefest of moments.

"Thanks", he said quietly. It was only after Robert had stood still for a while, holding the bowl in his good hand, that Elizabeth realized he was unable to eat in his present position.

"Uh…maybe we should sit down," she suggested.

"Yeah. That might be a good idea." Romano agreed, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Maybe we should go to the living room", Elizabeth tried. "No point in standing here in the middle of all the dishes…."

"Right." Robert replied. "Just show me the way then."

Elizabeth did and so they soon found themselves in the large room, wondering how to get seated. Elizabeth looked at the couch, trying to decide if she could sit on it without having to fear that Robert would sit down too close next to her. She finally decided to let Romano choose his place first.  He looked at Elizabeth, but when she gave him no encouragement, he chose a lonely armchair apart from the couch and started eating his ice cream in silence.

Elizabeth then picked another armchair opposite to Robert's, leaving the poor couch totally unused.

"Is it any good?" she asked after a short silence.

"What?" Robert looked as if his thoughts had been elsewhere.

"The ice cream." Elizabeth repeated. "Is it any good?"

"Oh, it's fine." He replied.

"You don't sound very conv…" Elizabeth started, but she came to a halt when she heard a cry from upstairs.

"I'm sorry", she said, looking up and then back to Robert again. "Ella must have woken up. I have to go to see her."

"No problem." He  replied softly. "Take your time."

"I won't be long." Elizabeth assured him as she hurried upstairs.

15 minutes later she reappeared with Ella in tow. She had tried to get her back to sleep, but she had soon had to give up on the idea. Ella wanted to see the visitor.

"Ella, do you remember Robert?" Elizabeth spoke to her daughter as she carried Ella to the living room and sat down on the coach with her. 

"Roh-but?" Ella peeped quietly, burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

Robert put down his bowl of dessert, which he by now had already finished.

"Yes, Ella." Elizabeth half-whispered to her. "This is Robert Romano, my col…friend from work."

"Hi Ella." Robert said, giving a small wave to make the little girl look at him.

"Say 'hi' to Robert." Elizabeth urged her daughter. "Say 'hi' to him." Then she turned to look at Romano apologetically: "She's a bit shy among strangers."

"Yeah, aren't we all." Robert replied, winking at Ella. "Hey, Ella", he then tried. "I could tell you funny stories about your mother."

"Robert!" Elizabeth warned him, but she was satisfied to notice that this exchange seemed to interest Ella. The girl lifted her head from her mother's shoulder and turned to look at Robert. She still looked suspicious, but the first fit of shyness was now overcome.

"Roh-but." she repeated, trying to imitate Elizabeth. This, in turn, seemed to amuse Romano, who quickly turned his head to hide a grin.

"Will you say 'hi' to Robert now?" Elizabeth tried again, ignoring Romano.

"Hi" Ella said quietly, looking down. Robert replied with another 'hi'.

"Do you want to go back to bed now?" Elizabeth whispered to Ella, stroking her hair gently. The child nodded and Elizabeth picked her up again, muttering to Romano that she would be right back. 

When she returned, she found Robert standing up. He seemed to be ready to leave.

"Look, I'm sorry…about the interruption." Elizabeth said, approaching him. "Ella wanted to see you, but she is still a bit shy around new people."

"I wondered if it was just me she was scared of." Robert noted. "The One-Armed monster."

"Robert, you still have two arms!" Elizabeth retorted. "Besides", she continued. "Ella liked you. She even asked if you would come back later. It's just the first meeting that's always a bit hard. She doesn't meet that many people."

Robert only nodded.

"You were not leaving yet?" Elizabeth then asked. Suddenly she found herself wishing that he would stay a bit longer.

"I have to go and get Gretel out." He replied.

"Gretel?"

"My dog."

"Oh, right, of course."

Robert hesitated a moment. Then he stepped closer to Elizabeth.

"Thanks for the lunch." He said softly. "…and for the ice cream. It was delicious."

"Thanks for accepting the invitation." Elizabeth replied, unable to think of anything more interesting to say. She was finding herself oddly breathless in his immediate presence. Before she even realized she was looking at his lips, absentmindedly wondering if she could still taste the ice cream on them if she…Elizabeth checked herself and quickly looked away. What was going on with her? She could only hope Romano hadn't noticed her look. That, however, seemed unlikely as he was staring intensely at her face.

But then the moment was broken by the ringing of the telephone. Happy of the excuse to get some distance, Elizabeth hurried away to pick up the call.

"Hello?" she spoke to the phone, stealing a sideways glance at Romano, only to notice he had turned his back on her. She returned her attention to the caller. The voice sounded oddly familiar…

"Dr. Dorsett?" Elizabeth questioned. She noticed that Robert immediately turned around at the sound of the name.

 "Yes, it's Elizabeth." She spoke to the phone, trying to ignore Romano even though she knew he was now staring at her.

"No, this isn't exactly a good moment", she continued the conversation. 

"Yes, if it's not urgent, perhaps it would be better if you called another time." Elizabeth noted, wondering if Robert's stare had already burnt a hole on her back.

Getting rid of Eddie, however, wasn't as easy as Elizabeth had hoped. Before she even knew, he was asking her on a date.

"Um…I don't know about that." She replied, but the man was persistent. Robert, on the other hand, seemed to be losing his patience observing the conversation.

Elizabeth did her best to finish the call: "Yes, Edward,  I'm sure that would be lovely, but…Look, can we talk about this tomorrow…I mean, on Monday, at work?" Finally Dorsett seemed to take the message and he ended the conversation after extracting a promise from Elizabeth that they would talk more later. 

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head as she hung up. Then she turned her attention back to Romano.

"It was from the hospital." She tried to cover, but Robert had heard Dorsett's name and wasn't going to let it slip.

"Doesn't that idiot know you're having a day off?" he raged.

"It must have slipped his mind…" Elizabeth shrugged, not really wanting to stay on the subject.

Romano, however, seemed to have forgotten that he had been on his way out.

"I see", he retorted. "How often does it 'slip his mind' anyway?"

Elizabeth didn't reply immediately.

"What? How many times has he called you?" Robert insisted.

"He hasn't", Elizabeth retorted, not liking the tone of Romano's voice. "Usually he just…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Why don't you just stop questioning me?"

"Oh please, don't tell me you and that…Dr. Dork - or should we all just call him 'Edward' now? - are suddenly having some sweet secrets other people shouldn't know about."

"So what if we are?" Elizabeth snapped back before thinking. Romano's questioning was beginning to irritate her.  "It's hardly any of your business anyway!", she cried, but soon she wished she had held her tongue, or at least chosen her words more wisely, when she looked at Romano.

Robert's expression was stoic as he replied:

"No, I guess it wouldn't be." He looked down at his shoes and then back at Elizabeth. "Good bye."

"Robert…" Elizabeth tried to apologize, but Romano was already on his way out.

"Thanks for the lunch." He cast over his shoulder before storming out.

Elizabeth buried her face in her hands and then slowly drew her fingers through her long, curly hair. Things certainly hadn't gone as she had planned. Not that she even had had a particular plan for the day, but having Robert storm out,  pissed with her because she had made him believe there was something going on between herself and Edward Dorsett, was certainly something she had not hoped to achieve when inviting him over in the first place. 

With an exasperated sigh, Elizabeth went to the kitchen and picked up what was left of the ice cream. Then she returned to the living room, grabbed the spoon Robert had left behind him, and started eating the dessert, wondering what would happen on Monday at work.  

TBC


	7. Some Things Never Change

Disclaimer: Yup, that's right: I _still_ don't own ER or any of the characters. They belong to the great powers that are WB, NBC and whatever other letter formations there might be. I'm just borrowing.

I warn you, there's not so terribly much of anything going on in this chapter, it's more like a bridge to what might or might not follow in the future. It's Shirley's turn to make a guest appearance in this one and I think I can already give you a Dorsett alert for the next installment even though it's not yet written. ;) 

~~~~

_Some Things Never Change_

It was 7 o'clock in the morning and Elizabeth was in for an early shift after the weekend. Looking at her watch, she realized she was running a little late so she passed the ER hurriedly with only a quick 'good morning' to the people standing at the reception. Then she took the elevator up to the surgical floor where her tiny little closet of an office was located. There Elizabeth immediately ran into Shirley:

"Good morning, Dr. Corday!" she greeted her cheerfully. "How was your weekend?"

"You wouldn't believe." Elizabeth only replied, proceeding to her office, opening the door and quickly changing her jacket into the white coat. Shirley came to stand by the door, keeping up the conversation:

 "That bad, huh?" 

"Well, not really, but…" 

"It really seems to be in the air." Shirley continued before Elizabeth could finish her sentence.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth looked at her co-worker curiously. Then, without waiting for a reply, she stepped out of the office and moved on to the reception desk.

"You should have seen Romano yesterday morning!" Shirley chuckled, following Elizabeth. "I only saw him briefly, but I thought he'd bite my head off. I've rarely seen him so heated - and you know I have seen a lot. Good thing I'm not working at the ER!"

Elizabeth tried to laugh with Shirley, but the attempt wasn't very successful as she could only wonder how much she herself had had to do with his foul mood.

"Is he working today?" she asked after barely managing a half-amused smile.

"I wouldn't know." Shirley replied, shrugging. "You should ask someone at the ER."

"Right…" Elizabeth picked up a chart from the desk to change the subject. "So, what do we have today?" She turned to look down at the paper.

"Just one major operation. You probably won't even need to bother for the rest if you're covering the ER, Dorsett can handle them."

Elizabeth's head perked up.

"Is he here today?"

"Not yet, but he should arrive in a couple of hours." 

 Elizabeth nodded, returning her attention to the chart, but then she realized that Shirley was still looking at her expectantly.

"What is it?" she enquired, frowning.

"Well, I was just wondering…" Shirley began suggestively. 

"What?"

"You do know what people talk about…"

"No, actually, I don't" Elizabeth retorted. "Why don't you enlighten me?"

"Well…" Shirley began a bit uneasily. "Apparently there are people here who think that there might be something going on between you and Dr. Dorsett."

Elizabeth sighed. Would the nurses ever stop gossiping? A couple of looks and winks from his side and the entire hospital was ringing the wedding bells? Then she thought about Robert. Had he found out about the rumor? It occurred to Elizabeth that he might have heard something already before the Saturday. That would certainly explain his reaction to Dorsett's call, assuming of course – Elizabeth blushed against her will at the thought - that he still had some feelings for her. 

"Well?" Shirley was still waiting for a response. From the knowing smile on her face, Elizabeth could only assume she had seen her blush and misinterpreted it to concern Dorsett. But perhaps it was for the best. Having the rumors fly about her and Edward was bad enough, but the thought of someone starting to gossip about her and Romano was absolutely horrifying…Not that there was anything going on between her and Robert anyway. All would be well and back to normal as soon as she could find something else to think about and as soon as Robert would get his own life back on track. 

In the meanwhile, she would have to deal with Shirley and the existing rumors:

"Have they started betting money on it already?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically, trying to avoid any serious conversation on the subject.

However, instead of laughing the suggestion off like Elizabeth had expected, Shirley remained silent.

"Oh no." Elizabeth sighed, noticing the look on her face. "They really have?"

Shirley nodded. "I think it's Frank and Jerry who are running it. The stakes are high, I've heard."

"I can't believe it! Don't these people have _anything_ better to do?"

"Apparently the people at the ER don't." Shirley shrugged. "You really should spend more time here at the OR."

"Right." Elizabeth snorted. "More time here in surgery with Dr. Dorsett. Wouldn't that just increase the water in the mill?"

"At least we're now safe from Romano here." Shirley noted. "Although, actually…" she lowered her voice: "I must confess I almost miss that old bullet-head from time to time, don't you?"

Elizabeth chuckled as she knew it was expected. 

"Don't we all", she retorted, carefully refraining from expressing any personal opinion.

"Yeah." Shirley replied. Then she continued more seriously: "He really was a great surgeon." 

"One of the best." Elizabeth agreed, sighing. "It's a great pity that we had to lose him… Finding  a replacement certainly isn't going to be easy." 

"Really? I would have thought…" Shirley began, looking at Elizabeth pointedly.

"What?"

"Well, I just I thought _you_ were going to be the replacement." She elaborated. "I mean, in a way you already are. You've been more or less in charge of the OR all year already, and now that he's down at the ER…"

"But that's only temporary." Elizabeth insisted. "I am the Associate Chief, so you know I'm only in charge as long as there is no-one else to do the job. And if Robert…" she paused and hesitated as if it was hard for her to say it aloud. Then she finally continued: "If Robert…can never return to surgery…then I suppose they are going to run a national search to fill the post. There is nothing I can do about it. "

"But aren't you going to apply for the permanent job when it opens?" Shirley countered, while Elizabeth's thoughts were still wandering somewhere between Romano and his former job.

"Uh…I don't know" she replied. "I haven't yet thought about it." 

"I know it's a big decision", Shirley agreed. "But you'd be the best for the job. You are a great surgeon and you already have four years of experience as the Associate Chief.. This would be the natural step forward."

"I appreciate your trust, I really do." Elizabeth replied with a smile. "But I have to give it some more consideration…I have to think about Ella and..." she drifted off, but silently had to add to herself: _and Robert. _For some reason she was afraid that it might upset him if she tried to take his job, even if it wasn't his job anymore, and that was something she did not wish to accomplish. 

In the meanwhile, Shirley continued in a lighter note:

"I really hope you will consider it", she spoke. "It would definitely be best for us all. The last thing I want right now is another cocky, middle-aged man with a…" Shirley was suddenly cut short.

Elizabeth, who hadn't been paying full attention, quickly looked up at her companion, wondering what had silenced her so abruptly. She didn't have to wait long for the answer as a familiar voice, coming from behind her back, broke the silence:

"What is this chatter I'm hearing?" asked the voice that couldn't belong to anyone but Robert Romano. Apparently he had heard at least some of their conversation. "You weren't talking about me, were you?"

"No." Shirley choked and, after exchanging worried looks with Elizabeth, quickly excused herself.

"What was that all about?" Romano asked as soon as Shirley was gone.

Elizabeth uncomfortably turned towards the desk and began searching through various papers and charts.

"Nothing", she replied, shrugging.

"Oh, come on, Lizzie", Robert snapped. "I heard Shirley mention a 'cocky, middle-aged man'!"

"She was talking about her neighbor." Elizabeth lied. She really didn't want to approach the subject of becoming the Chief of Surgery right now. Not while they still had so much other unfinished business to deal with.

But Romano wasn't ready to let it go so easily. Either he was having another bad morning or he was still mad at her.

"Lizzie, you should know you are a pathetic liar", he said, examining her face with a long stare. "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing important." Elizabeth insisted, avoiding Robert's eyes. 

A short silence ensued as Romano chose not to push the topic any further. He seemed to have something else in his mind, but Elizabeth decided to cut in with something meaningless before he could speak:

"So, what brings you here anyway?" she asked, determinedly focusing on the chart she was still holding. "Shouldn't you be at the ER?"

_Bad choice of words again_, Elizabeth sighed to herself soon after as he watched Robert's expression harden. 

"What?" he snapped. "Am I no longer even allowed to enter the OR floor? I see you'd rather keep me down at the ER." 

"Oh, cut it out, Robert." Elizabeth retorted, slightly embarrassed of her own lack of consideration but also irritated that Robert seemed so willing to use any excuse to start an argument with her that morning. "If you just come here to pick up a fight, you might just as well…"

"No" Romano interjected irritably. "I came here to ask if any of you precious surgeons could finally bother to descend to the ER? Lewis asked for a surgical consult over half an hour ago. I had to come all the way here to see what's keeping you all, and what do I find? Dr. Corday showing her fine example by chatting away with her surgical team when she's supposed to be covering the ER!"

"I just arrived less than ten minutes ago!" Elizabeth protested, beginning to lose her patience with Robert again. 

"Your shift began more than _twenty_ minutes ago." Romano countered coolly.

Elizabeth sighed resignedly. She knew she was late and her only excuse was that she hadn't bothered to get up in time. Besides, she would have been down at the ER by now if she hadn't stopped to talk with Shirley.

"Fine." She retorted. "I'm coming."

"Good." Romano replied curtly, but no longer unkindly.

"So, what's the case?" Elizabeth asked, returning to professional mode after venturing a little smile as the final peace offering.

"Victim of a shooting…the usual stuff." Robert replied, taking off.  Elizabeth followed him.

They began walking towards the elevator and after a moment of silence, Elizabeth decided to take the opportunity to try to talk with Romano now that he seemed to have cooled down a bit.

"Robert?" she began.

"Yeah?"

"Uh…I just wanted to know…if we are okay." Elizabeth struggled to find the right words. "I mean, you left so abruptly on Saturday…I'm sorry it had to be like that."

Robert stayed quiet for a while. Then he spoke:

"Yeah. Me too."

"Are you angry with me?"

"Why would I be?"

They reached the elevator and stopped to wait for it.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, I just thought", she replied. "You _seemed_ quite pissed off."

"So?" Robert avoided the question. "It can't have been the first time you've seen me seemingly pissed off."

"It certainly wasn't", Elizabeth snorted, but then she remembered the seriousness of the conversation: 

"I don't want to fight with you, Robert." She said softly.

"I'm glad to hear it", Romano only replied.

The elevator doors slid open and they both stepped in. 

"I really mean it." Elizabeth continued once the doors behind them were closed. "Maybe we should try again some other time," she suggested "A dinner, maybe?"

There was a short silence. Robert seemed to be contemplating the offer. His reaction was not quite what Elizabeth had expected:

"Do you really want it or are you just trying to please me?" he finally asked in return.

Elizabeth was taken aback. 

"Well, I just…" she began, but didn't have time to finish her thoughts before the elevator doors swung open again. They were down at the ER.

Romano stepped out first.

"Forget that I asked", he said lightly, but his voice sounded a little forced to Elizabeth who knew Robert better than most people. But she didn't get a chance to reply as Romano, after taking one more look at her, disappeared into the early morning crowd of the ER, and Elizabeth was not fast enough follow him. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. The ER could be stressing enough even without adding Robert into the mix. She'd have to get her mind elsewhere. Soon.

TBC

Please R&R and let me know what you think. 


	8. Two Can Play the Game

Disclaimer: No, I don't own ER or any of its characters. Don't sue me.

The rating's going up a bit. I'm not sure if it's absolutely necessary yet, but it would probably have to go up sooner or later anyway. Don't kill me, though, because it's not a Cordano scene that's causing it at this point.…but we're making progress, I promise.

~~~~

Two Can Play The Game 

The following days went by without another conflict, mostly due to the fact that Elizabeth was spending more time at the OR, trying to rid her mind of Robert once and for all, but in the end of the week she found herself covering the ER again. The morning passed smoothly enough, but by midday Elizabeth was beginning to suspect that Romano was avoiding her. At first she didn't mind the distance as she convinced herself it was exactly what she needed and had been trying to achieve all week anyway, but after a while it began to bother her. It had been easy enough to avoid Robert, but the feeling of being avoided was much more difficult to swallow. Elizabeth had barely seen Robert at all during the day and whenever she did arrive to a room he was already in, it turned out he had just been on his way out. When this was repeated for the fifth time –Elizabeth couldn't believe she was actually counting the times – and Robert was trying to make another hasty exit, she decided to follow him.

"Robert, wait!" she called after him.

He stopped and swirled around to face Elizabeth.

"Don't tell me you need my help in making a diagnose." he snapped. 

Elizabeth ignored his remark. She stepped a little closer and lowered her voice so that other people around them would not hear and make a fuss:

"I think we should talk." 

"Aren't we talking now?" Robert retorted, beginning to walk again. Elizabeth followed him and started pacing by his side.

"Not like this" she hissed. "I meant somewhere more private." 

Romano briefly turned to look at her with an unreadable expression, but did not reply. Elizabeth took this as a sign that he was, however, listening. 

"Look…", she began, not sure of what she even wanted to say. Asking straight out if and why he was avoiding her just didn't seem like a good idea. "Um…Is something bothering you?" 

"No." Romano replied, not turning to face Elizabeth. "Nothing but the fact that these idiots here can't do anything right and I must stand in guard of them all the time. So, if you'd excuse me…" 

Elizabeth sighed, but decided to try once more before Robert would escape again:

"When does your shift end?" she asked, hoping to be able to catch up with him after work.

"In three hours."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I have a surgery in two. I thought we could have gone to…maybe grab some coffee after work…I mean, I really wish we could talk… but I'm not sure if I can finish the operation in an hour, unless…" she stopped abruptly.

"Unless what?" Robert turned to look at her suspiciously.

"Forget about it." she replied. "I can't do it in an hour." 

"But you know someone who can?"

"No." Elizabeth lied. "But if you can wait, or if you'd stop by later…"

"Elizabeth, didn't  I already tell you you're a pathetic liar?" he snapped. "It's quite obvious you want to do the surgery with Dorsett, so why don't you just say so?"

"I'm glad you've finally learnt his name." Elizabeth tried to reply lightly, but Robert was not in the mood to respond to the jest.

"Why don't you just go and ask your Eddie then?" he spat. "You're wasting your time with me."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. She had done her best, and if Robert wasn't willing to meet her halfway, what was there for her to do?

"Fine" Elizabeth snapped. "Forget about it." She turned around and began storming towards the opposite direction, but before she could even look up at where she was going, she had bumped into someone coming from the other direction. As she looked up to apologize, Elizabeth could not repress a gasp. She realized she had come face to face with Dr. Dorsett.

The man seemed pleased enough with himself to find Elizabeth in his arms and he wasn't willing to let her go too easily:

"Hey",  he greeted, placing his hands on Elizabeth's shoulders to stop her from escaping. "I would have come sooner if I'd known I'd get such a warm welcome here."

"I-I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you.", Elizabeth stammered, acutely aware of the fact that a lot of people were staring at them, including Romano who had stopped and turned around to see what the bustle was about. She made an attempt to flee from the situation, but Dorsett got the hold of her arm before she could get far. He drew her closer and smiled seductively.

"Trying to run away from me again?" he asked playfully, lowering his voice slightly.

Elizabeth blushed and then tried to laugh, but she only managed to sound nervous as she spoke:

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Dorsett."

"Oh, I think you do," he replied, placing a hand on Elizabeth's waist and directing her to the nearest room that was unoccupied.

"Now, this is better. A bit of privacy." He said, returning his attention to Elizabeth after closing the door behind them. Elizabeth was beginning to lose her temper. The temper which already had been strained by Robert:

"I don't think I have time for this right now, Dr.Dorsett, I…"  

"Could we just drop the formalities already?" he interjected, stepping closer to Elizabeth and placing a finger on her lips to shut her down. Then he lowered his voice again: "I rather liked it when you called me Edward in the phone, Elizabeth."

"Oh, that was just…I didn't…" Elizabeth found herself losing her anger and focus at the man's sudden nearness. She couldn't even remember the last time anyone had touch her like that…Not until a memory of a dimly lit lounge and Robert sitting defeated in the large armchair, reaching out to stroke her cheek, returned to Elizabeth's mind. Closing her eyes, she could still feel the touch - even though she had been so quick to pull away at the time. But it had been too soon, it had caught her totally off guard, she had been scared…but this… As Elizabeth closed her eyes she could still feel the touch of Robert's hand on her face, and suddenly it didn't scare her anymore, but…Elizabeth abruptly opened her eyes and remembered it was not Robert who was touching her –it was Eddie, and he was slowly moving his fingers from her cheek back to her lips again. Elizabeth tried to break away from him, but only ended up being held closer.

"Don't run away, Lizzie," he whispered, now using his free hand to lift Elizabeth's face so that he could see her eyes. "You don't mind if I call you Lizzie, do you?" The smile that played on his lips told Elizabeth that the man was sure of his success. "Lizzie and Eddie…" he continued. "Now wouldn't that just go so well together?"

This time Elizabeth's attempt to break herself free succeeded. She couldn't do it. For a while she had thought she could, feeling the need of a man's touch, but something was stopping her. Was it Mark? Was this still too soon? Or was it…_Robert_? No, ridiculous. Elizabeth could barely even allow herself to name the possibility, but then…why did she have to think about Robert, of all people, when Edward was touching her? Why not Mark?

"I'd rather you not call me Lizzie." She finally said when she realized she was expected to speak. 

"Oh." Dorsett was slightly, but only slightly, taken aback. "I understand."

"Do you?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. - '_Because I don't', she added to herself._

"Of course. I should have thought about that… When someone you love has called you 'Lizzie' for so long, it must be difficult to hear it from someone else."

"B-But, how do you…?" Elizabeth was startled. How could the man know about her and Robert? Hell, there wasn't even any such thing as _her and Robert_!

"I know about you husband." Dorsett replied soothingly after seeing Elizabeth's reaction and misreading it. "And I'm sorry. I should have realized he'd have called you Lizzie. After all, it is a name of endearment."

Elizabeth blushed at her own mistake – why did everything have to remind her of Robert these days? – and was about to correct him, but then thought the better of it. She didn't want to drag Robert into this conversation, especially as there was no reasonable explanation she could give as to why she wouldn't let Dorsett call her Lizzie if another colleague was allowed to do so. 

Eddie continued when Elizabeth did not reply:

"Is that also the reason you have been avoiding me?" he asked. "Look, if you're still thinking about your husband…"

"No, it's not that", Elizabeth replied, shaking her head. She was by now almost certain she was over the period of grieving, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to take the next step yet…nor was she convinced that Fast Eddie was the man he wanted to do it with.

"Then why are you always trying to run away?" Dorsett made another move to get closer to Elizabeth again. He put on a seductive smile as he continued: "Could it be that you don't find me at all attractive?"

The man was smooth and Elizabeth could tell he knew exactly his own level of attractiveness, yet a part of her wanted to just give in to the temptation and get it all over and done with. Sooner or later she would have to move on anyway, unless she wanted to stay alone for the rest of her life, and she could just as well do it sooner rather than later. Maybe this was exactly what she needed anyway. Something casual with a good looking man, not too many feelings attached, like the good old days with Benton. Elizabeth grinned slightly at the memory. Besides, whatever feelings she might have for Robert…it was all too complicated, she wouldn't be able to handle it. They had barely even spoken to each other all week. It would never work out. She needed something more simple, someone like Edward Dorsett.

Elizabeth turned to look at Eddie, a smile slowly forming on her lips as she had made up her mind.

"Could it be that someone has a bit too high opinion of their own attractiveness?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have no idea what you are talking about" he replied innocently. "But if you have any doubts…perhaps I should provide you with further proof."

He slowly leaned closer to Elizabeth, taking her face between his hands, and finally, when there were no protests from Elizabeth's part, he kissed her softly on the lips. At first Elizabeth remained completely frozen, she wasn't sure if it was shock or simply lack of any feeling, but after a while she opened her mouth and slowly began to respond to the kisses. She moaned softly, taking in the sensation she hadn't even realized she had been missing so much_. 'This can't be right'_, she heard a voice inside of her nag, but she silenced it as the kiss began to turn deeper and more passionate. Elizabeth closed her eyes to be able enjoy every sensation the kiss could offer, but the moment she lost the sight of Eddie, she found herself imagining herself in different arms – or, actually, there only was one arm. Startled by the sudden fantasy, Elizabeth quickly broke the kiss. She could hardly believe the tricks her mind was playing on her. Dorsett, however, mistook this action.

"Do you want me to lock the door?" he half-whispered, placing another kiss on her lips before Elizabeth could turn away.

"I'm not sure…if that is… such a good idea…" Elizabeth breathed between the kisses "…Someone might need this room." 

"They don't call me Fast Eddie for nothing." Dorsett replied huskily, flashing a smile that spoke volumes of the high opinion the man had of himself.  That was too much for Elizabeth. She pulled away and quickly made her way to the door before he could stop her or another moment of weakness come upon her.

"I have no doubt you have earned your name, Dr. Dorsett, so there's hardly any need for me to stay and witness any further attempts to prove it," she spoke, satisfied to see the look of disbelief on  Eddie's face as she opened the door and strode out.  

The satisfaction, however, quickly turned into discomfort as Elizabeth made her way out of the room and found herself trying to avoid the looks that she knew, or at least felt like, she was receiving from everywhere as she moved forward. It almost looked as if some people had purposefully sited themselves so that they could try to see what was going on in the room –or maybe it was all just her own imagination. At least Robert wasn't anywhere to be seen.  Elizabeth only wished she could escape to the calm and silence of the OR already. But alas, she still had more than an hour left of her ER call.

Suddenly she stopped dead on her feet as she noticed Robert further away. He was escorting a beautiful blonde woman out of an exam room and the two slowly began walking in Elizabeth's direction. She hurriedly picked up her pager and turned to look at it as if it was the center of her world, hoping that Robert would just pass her by without any notice. She didn't feel like she was ready to face him just yet. But it turned out she was worried for nothing as Romano only seemed to have eyes for the lady he was walking with. As they drew closer, Elizabeth could hear their conversation:

"I assure you, Miss Hewitt, your brother is going to be just fine. He will get home in a matter of hours. We'll just have to run some more tests to make sure everything is alright."

"You are very kind, Dr. Romano. But can you tell me where I might wait until Tony is released?"

At that moment they both stopped. Elizabeth had to look up to see what was going on and she noticed that the way was blocked; Dorsett had finally emerged from the room where she had left him, while Susan had appeared from out of nowhere and nearly stumbled on the man. The moment was awkward for Elizabeth, to say the least. Robert and his companion had to stop right in front of her to wait for Susan and Dorsett get out of the way. 

At first it looked like Romano wasn't going to look at Elizabeth at all, but just as she had sighed in relief – or was it disappointment? - he suddenly turned his head to where she was standing and Elizabeth felt forced to look up. She blushed as their eyes met and for a moment she felt like…well, she did not know how she felt like, because she had never had the feeling before, but somehow it seemed like everything else around them was  suddenly disappearing and all she could see was the look  in Robert's eyes. The feeling was intoxicating, but it only lasted for a few seconds. It was broken by Susan's comment which made Romano swiftly break the eye contact and look at Dr. Dorsett instead.

Apparently Susan had noticed some marks of lipstick on Dorsett's face and had made a joke about it, but the only one laughing was Eddie, and even he sounded awkward. Elizabeth bit her lip and the looked away in embarrassment. Before she even knew, Robert's eyes were upon her again, but this time the expression was closed, even cold. After taking a quick glance at him, Elizabeth could not bring herself to meet those eyes again. She could hardly hear what Dorsett had to say in response to Susan, but apparently he stayed true to his name and reputation and got away from the situation easily enough, because the next thing Elizabeth could register was the fact that Robert and his little Miss Hewitt were on their way again. She could hear them continuing their conversation:

"You know, this is a crappy place", she heard Robert say. "My shift ends in a few minutes so maybe we could go out to grab some coffee while they do the tests on your brother."

"Oh, that would be lovely, Dr. Romano, you are so…"

"Just call me Rocket."

That was the last thing Elizabeth could hear. In fact, she didn't even want to hear more. She swirled around and began walking in the other direction, trying to get a grip of herself. If Robert wanted to grab some coffee with some bimbo, then it was absolutely fine by her. It was not like she had ever cared what he did after work anyway. She never had and never would care.

But the rest of the day Elizabeth found herself thinking of nothing else. Whenever she tried to banish the thought of Robert talking and laughing with the pretty looking woman by trying to replace the image with memories of her earlier activities with Dorsett, she only ended up feeling worse. The woman never even returned to retrieve her brother – although Elizabeth never would admit to herself that she was actually keeping an eye on the room where she knew Mr. Hewitt was waiting.

It was only when Elizabeth was on her way out, after the end of her shift, that she ran into Robert and the woman again. They were walking down the street towards the hospital as Elizabeth stepped out. Even from the distance she could see they were having fun and Robert was apparently laughing at something Miss Hewitt had just said. The smile died on his lips, however, as soon as he noticed her standing at the doorway.

Elizabeth would have preferred to get away without exchanging any words with Robert, but she would have to go to the same direction from which the two of them were arriving, so there seemed to be no way to escape.

"Lizzie." Robert greeted as soon as they were within a short enough distance from each other. "You finished you operation already?"

"Yes." Elizabeth replied curtly, stealing a glance at Romano's companion.

"Oh, excuse me, I'm being rude." Robert spoke lightly, too lightly to Elizabeth's liking. "Let me introduce you Miss Rebecca Hewitt." He turned to his companion. "Rebecca, this is Dr. Elizabeth Corday."

"Nice to meet you." The woman twittered, smiling broadly.

"A pleasure indeed." Elizabeth returned dryly, forcing herself to smile.

"Do you know anything about my brother, Dr. Corday?"

"Mr. Anthony Hewitt? He was ready to leave an hour ago." Elizabeth retorted dryly. She realized she was sounding grumpy, but she told herself she was tired and in no mood to humor some woman Robert chose to take around the town while he was supposed to be tending to her brother. She would really have to remind Robert of his responsibilities as a doctor - the ones which did not include going out with a patient's sister while the patient himself was still in want of medical help. But that would have to wait for tomorrow.

"Well, it was good to meet you Miss Hewitt." Elizabeth hastened to add before either Robert or his new friend could say anything. "I really have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, Robert." She nodded briefly at the two and then hurried away, muttering something about having the El to catch. 

Tbc

Please R&R. I'd love to get any feedback.


	9. Misapprehensions

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or any of these characters.

I can only hope this chapter is tolerable. It wasn't easy to write, but I hope it came out ok. Please R&R.

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Chapter 9 -Misapprehensions 

The following night proved to be a sleepless one for Elizabeth. She constantly found herself thinking, and consequently trying not to think, about Robert together with the blonde. The reasonable part of her kept saying that she was being utterly ridiculous. She didn't care about Robert and it certainly wasn't the first time he was disregarding the rules, so why should she be so upset now that he had chosen to go out with a patient's sister while waiting for the patient's test results? He had done worse things in the past. Irritable man. Why couldn't he just behave like everyone else and save her the trouble of spending sleepless nights on his account.

Elizabeth acknowledged she was being unreasonable as she once again tossed over in her bed, but she also excused herself, stating it wasn't easy to stay reasonable in the middle of the night and think fairly of the person that was causing the sleeplessness. This was exactly why she could never be with Robert: if he was driving her crazy even when he wasn't present, what would his constant presence do to her? A whispering thought suggested that it might the fact he was _not present and that he might indeed be spending the night with someone else that was driving her mad, but Elizabeth silenced it by covering her head in her pillows._

She. Did. Not. Have. Any. Feelings. For. Robert. Period. –or did she?

Elizabeth exasperatedly tossed one of her pillows towards the wall as if it was the origin of her unsettling thoughts and feelings. Then she sighed deeply and tried to fantasize about Edward Dorsett just to get her mind better occupied, but it proved to be a fruitless attempt, because her thoughts would always return to Robert as soon as the imagined kissing and making out would turn really heated.

Finally, when the clock beside her bed hit 4 am, Elizabeth decided to give up the idle attempts to sleep and just start preparing for the next day already. She'd probably need to drink the whole pot of coffee to get enough energy, so she might just as well get started with it. Wrapping herself up in her bathrobe, she tiptoed from her room to downstairs, trying not to wake up Ella. She didn't bother to turn on the lights as she had already prepared the coffee for the morning so that she only needed to press the button and let the machine do the rest.

Waiting for the coffee to drop, Elizabeth wandered off to the living room and settled down on the couch. She only meant to sit down until the coffee was ready, but the plan soon went awry as she began to doze off and was asleep before she even realized. 

Four hours later Elizabeth woke up with a start. Someone was ringing the doorbell. She quickly stumbled up from the couch and, taking a look at the clock on the wall, saw that it was nearly 8 am and she was supposed to be at work in ten minutes. The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming" Elizabeth yawned as she went to open the door.

It was Kris, the babysitter. 

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I…" the girl began, but was cut short as she noticed that Elizabeth had obviously just woken up and was still wearing her bathrobe, her hair being more of a mess than usually.

"Did you call in sick?" she asked, sounding worried. "You don't look too good."

"I'm fine" Elizabeth sighed. "I just didn't get much sleep at night so I overslept."

"Are you still going to work?"

"I guess I must." Elizabeth replied, trying to repress a yawn. Then she got a grip of herself and invited Kris in, all the while trying to shake herself awake. She would have to start doing something if she was ever going to make it to work: 

"Would you go and get Ella – she's still in her crib – while I get dressed", she started giving instructions. "And if you'd then drive me…"

"Of course I will, " the girl cut in reassuringly. "I'll be ready as soon as you are."

"Thanks" Elizabeth smiled. She went on to throw away the old coffee and to prepare a fresh pot before going back upstairs to get dressed.

Half an hour later Elizabeth was ready and on her way to the County. It was almost 9 o'clock when Kris finally dropped her off in front of Doc Magoo's and Elizabeth could step out to say her good-byes to Ella. She was nearly a full hour late.

As she entered the hospital, Elizabeth hoped to be able to make a quick exit to her office and pretend she had been there all morning since, luckily enough, nobody had yet paged her, but the plan came to nothing when she heard Romano's voice calling after her as soon as she had passed the reception desk.

"Lizzie. How gracious of you to finally join us!"

Elizabeth stopped and sighed, but did not turn around.

"I'm sorry, but I overslept." She muttered, hoping to get away without any further questioning. But she had no such luck. Robert was, if possible, even worse than usually:

"Really? Is that some new ailment that has suddenly befallen all surgeons?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and swirled around.

"Oh, come on Robert," she snapped. "It's only an hour for God's sake. I can do it in later." She knew she deserved the reproach, but the tone in which Robert was speaking was not making her morning any better.

"Indeed." Romano snorted. "Now, normally I wouldn't mind, but if every surgeon decides to sleep late one morning…"

Elizabeth blinked.

"Excuse me, but I'm afraid you just lost me. As far as I know, I'm not the only surgeon here, so even if I…"

"Oh please" Romano interjected, directing Elizabeth from the hall to the privacy of the lounge. "I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"No, quite frankly I have no idea what you mean." Elizabeth retorted, getting impatient. 

"You can stop pretending, Elizabeth. You know I'm talking about Mr. Lipstick."

Elizabeth sighed exasperatedly. Robert was getting way out of line.

"What the hell has he got to do with this?" she insisted, no longer bothering to keep a level voice. "Besides", she growled. "The name is Dorsett. Do you want me to spell it out for you? D-O-R…"

"Look, I don't care what his name is." Robert cut in, raising his voice to go above Elizabeth's. "But if _you like it so much, then why don't you just run off to Las Vegas and marry him." He was nearly yelling out the last part._

"What is your problem?" Elizabeth snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why would I want to marry him?"

"Why indeed?" Robert snapped back. "I guess it suits you better then, to just spend some wet nights with Dr. Dork and come to work when you feel like it."

Elizabeth stared at Romano in disbelief. He had been grumpy all week, but this was going way beyond his previous moodiness. 

"Robert, are you sure you're alright?" she asked, forgetting her irritation for a while as worry suddenly took over in her mind. Had all the trials in his life finally affected his mental health?

At first Robert did not reply, but then his expression hardened as he opened his mouth to speak:

"You know what?" he retorted . "I'm not alright; I'm sick – sick of your games."

"My games?" Elizabeth repeated in disbelief. She wondered if Robert was serious or if he had hit the drug store on his way to work. But he seemed to be perfectly sober and, at the moment, very much pissed off with her. Was it still because of yesterday? At first Elizabeth felt guilty at the thought, but then she remembered what Robert himself had done, and her anger slowly began to return. What right did he have to come and berate her when he himself was hitting on his patients' sisters.

"_My_ games?" she repeated again, this time with more force. "What about _your games?"_

"Excuse me?" It was Robert's turn to stare in disbelief.

"You heard me." Elizabeth smirked. She was pleased to see Robert silenced so easily. She took a deep breath and began to list her accusations: 

"So, tell me, Robert, what exactly did you think you were doing yesterday, when you left your patient, Mr. Anthony Hewitt, to survive by himself while _you_ chose to take his _sister_ out for coffee?" Elizabeth paused to gather more breath and Romano opened his mouth to reply, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand as she went on: "You are the Chief of ER, for crying out loud! Have you any idea what kind of example you are setting?"

There was a short, heavy silence. Then Robert spoke:

"What about you?" he snapped irately without responding to the charges made. "You are as good as the Chief of Surgery and you just sleep with your employees and come to work when it suits you! Now doesn't that just give a whole new meaning to the people who work _under you? Or was he working on top?"_

Elizabeth could only stare at Romano in utter shock before she found her voice again.

"I beg you pardon!" she gaped. "What the hell are you talking about?" 

"There's no need to play innocent, Elizabeth. I saw him."

"Saw who?"

"Dorsett - who else? Or have you moved on to Edson by now?"

Elizabeth shuddered at the thought, but didn't get a chance to say anything before Robert continued:

 "He came in just before you did, this Dorsett guy, bragging to Luka about some hot chick he had last night. Seemed very pleased."

Finally it all began to make sense to Elizabeth and she let out a half amused chuckle as the truth dawned to her. Robert looked at her in surprise. Apparently, of all the responses he had expected, this was not on the top of his list.

"What's so amusing?" he asked, seemingly unsure of whether he should get more angry or not.

"You thought it was me?" Elizabeth only asked, repressing another chuckle. "Fast Eddie indeed", she added to herself, thinking of how only yesterday he had been making his moves on her.

"What? Are you trying to tell me it wasn't you?" Robert seemed to be completely taken by surprise and unsure of how to react.

"I'm not trying - I'm telling you it certainly wasn't me."

Romano looked at her searchingly, obviously trying to decide whether he should take her word for it.

"Then who was it?" he finally asked, still in disbelief, although it seemed to Elizabeth that he was also beginning to feel slightly embarrassed of his earlier accusations.

"How should I know", she shrugged. "I don't care where he spends his nights – as long as he stays away from my house."

"So…there's nothing going on between you two?"

"No." Elizabeth replied honestly. It was about the time this mess was cleared. Maybe she and Robert could now return to their normal situation – whatever that was. At least they could stop fighting.

Romano didn't reply. Instead, he quietly sat down and then bounced back up again, going to pour himself a cup of coffee. He didn't seem to know what to do or say next. Finally he turned to look at Elizabeth again.

"Uh…I'm sorry." He muttered, speaking to his coffee cup. "I shouldn't have lashed out on you like that…It's not like it was any of my business anyway."

Elizabeth looked at him quizzically, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Are you apologizing?"

Romano instantly pulled himself together and straightened his back as he returned to his normal demeanor:

"Yeah", he spoke lightly. "Take it or leave it. But I'd say you better take it, because it won't happen again."

"In that case I'll take it." Elizabeth replied with a smile. Then she remembered there was still one thing that was unsettled and she couldn't just let it pass or else she'd be in for another sleepless night:

"Robert" she began. "About what happened yesterday between you and Ms. Hewitt…You…You do realize it was wrong?"

Romano shrugged.

"Who cares, the girl was an idiot anyway", he replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "Besides - What's the fun of being a Chief if you can't do what you want?"

"You have a point." Elizabeth retorted, trying to hide her own satisfaction. She didn't even know why she should feel so satisfied of his response. Or – to hell with it – actually she did know, had known all along, but she had been too stubborn to admit it to herself: she didn't like the thought of Robert paying his attentions to anyone but herself. 

There he was, obliviously sipping his coffee as the realization Elizabeth had been trying to escape for so long finally hit her - and it almost scared her to death:  Not the fact that Robert was sipping his coffee, but the fact that she suddenly knew she wanted to be the cup.

TBC 


	10. Suturing

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own ER or Robert or Elizabeth, or anyone else for that matter. That just sucks, so don't make my life any more miserable by suing me, ok?

Thanks for all the feedback! Keep it coming! I'm slowly but steadily nearing the end of this story and to celebrate that, I finally got around to writing a new chapter. I'm not sure if I like it, but I hope you do. :o)

Oh, and this takes place during Things Change, involving the suture room scene, but since this is fan fiction, I decided to make a little twist…and I don't care if it's realistic or not. ;)

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Chapter 10 – Suturing

Elizabeth felt her pulse quicken as the realization slowly invaded her mind. Her feelings for Robert were something more than what she had always imagined. But how long had it been going on? A week? Had the intense moment shared in the elevator started it all? No, it had to be longer than that, but as hard as Elizabeth tried, she could not pick any particular moment that would have changed everything. She had despised Robert, then she had forgiven and forgotten, eventually she had even begun to trust him as a friend, but how and when had that turned into what she was feeling now? She had no idea.

The next thing to hit her mind was panic. What if Robert would notice her staring? She wasn't ready to face him yet. Not before she could be certain of what she wanted. Elizabeth quickly looked away, fidgeting her hands nervously, but Robert only kept sipping his coffee, staring absently out of the window. He was seemingly oblivious of the rumble that was going on in Elizabeth's mind.

"Um…well," she finally stammered when she could no longer take the tension that was building up in the room – or was it just in her mind?  "If we're…er…finished with this…I- I think I should go to get some work done." As soon as she had spoken, Elizabeth realized she didn't really want to go. It was just her in-built self protection mechanism telling her to run as fast as she could before she would make a fool of herself.

Romano turned to look at her, finally noticing that something was not right.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "You…uh…look a bit pale." The voice was worried, even though he was clearly trying to hide it. 

"Yeah, I'm fine" Elizabeth forced herself to smile. "I just…I just need to…" her mind was drawing a blank as her eyes got caught in the strong lines of Robert's jaw. She blushed and quickly averted her eyes. "I have to go," she muttered, sounding colder than she had intended. 

But in spite of her words, Elizabeth was not moving. She stood still, as if waiting for a final dismissal from Robert. Only it never came. He had turned to face the window again. It was impossible to see his expression. For a while Elizabeth's mind battled on whether to use the opportunity to run as far as she could or to stay and face her feelings. Her brain was screaming for her to go, but her feet were just as vehemently refusing to move.

When Robert realized she still hadn't left after a minute, he turned around again, this time sounding slightly irritated:

"Can't you find the door?" he snapped. "It's right under the exit sign in case you…Are you sure you're okay?" Robert's tone turned worried again as he noticed Elizabeth looking at him strangely. 

"Robert, " she said breathlessly, still rooted on the spot. "I think there is something we should…Damn it." Just as Elizabeth was trying to communicate her thoughts to Robert, her pager went off. She felt an almost irresistible urge to take the little devil and just toss it out of the nearest window, but somehow she still managed to pick up the pager and read the text that appeared:

"ER, Trauma 1"

"I have to go" she stated mechanically without looking up. 

Before Robert could say a word, if he even was going to say anything, Elizabeth rushed off, hoping that her heart wasn't beating loud enough for everyone around her to hear it. Once out of the room she had to stop to gather some breath and to collect her thoughts before rushing to treat the trauma. The last thing needed was a dead patient to bring her back to her senses. But she was also relieved that she now had more time to think through everything that had taken place. Maybe after a few open chests and a couple of cups of very strong coffee she would wake up and realize it had all been a dream.

Elizabeth spent the rest of her shift going up and down the building from ER to OR and back to ER again, whenever her pager would start beeping. But her mind was hardly ever at the task at hand. It kept wandering into whichever part of the building Robert was most likely to be in while she was doing her job somewhere else. More than once she was on the verge of dropping what she was doing so that she could go and find Robert, but each time she brushed the thought off as ridiculous.

Even if she would find him, what could she say? 'Hi, Robert. I just realized I want to be a cup of coffee in your hands and on your lips, so could we just make out now?' or 'I have been thinking, and I've decided we should take our relationship to the next level.' Pathetic. But at least the look on Robert's face would be worth seeing. 

Elizabeth chuckled at the thought. She could almost see his jaw dropping. And what a jaw that was… Elizabeth shook her head. Who was she trying to fool? She needed to talk to Robert. She was still hesitant about doing anything that involved the possibility of actually getting together with Romano, but she couldn't just pretend that there was nothing to discuss, either. She was old enough to work out these kind of feelings without starting to behave like a teenager. Besides, she had never run away from a man she was attracted to before. On the contrary, she had always pursued her prey until she got what she wanted. Why should this time be any different?

Maybe because she had never had feelings for a man like Robert before? A man who was her equal, in some ways even her superior, when it came to the quickness of mind and the strength of will. Thinking back to all her previous relationships, Elizabeth had to admit to herself that she had always chosen men she knew she could dominate and who could never beat her at verbal sparring. But Robert was different - and it scared her. Any relationship with him would be a step, or more like a leap, to the unknown.

Yet, the more Elizabeth tried to talk herself out of all the feelings she now knew she had for him, the more she felt compelled to explore them - and the harder she tried to push away her newly discovered desire for him, the more she found herself longing for his touch.

Finally she had to surrender. As soon as her shift was over, she walked determinedly to the ER desk and, before she could change her mind, promptly asked where she might find Dr. Romano.

"The last I saw him, he was heading for the suture room with a cut in his arm." Jerry informed her in between answering the phone calls.

"Which arm?" Elizabeth immediately wanted to know. "Is anyone attending to him?" She knew she sounded worried, but she couldn't bother to try and hide it. A few nurses turned to look at her in surprise, but Jerry's attention was already turned to yet another person seeking for a doctor. Elizabeth shrugged and, after shooting a glare at the nurses who were now exchanging curious looks, rushed in the direction of the suture room to find out for herself.

As she entered the room, she was caught by the scene that unfolded before her eyes: Robert was sitting there alone, trying to fix a cut in his non-functional arm with the one that was still working. Elizabeth could easily imagine that he had, in his pride, refused all the help he might have been offered. He was ignoring her entrance as well, even though it was clear that he had noticed her. Apparently he was determined to play the doctor by himself this time.

But Elizabeth wasn't as easily discouraged as the rest of the staff.

"Don't tell me your HMO doesn't cover someone else to do that for you," she spoke, deciding to approach the matter lightly.

Robert didn't even look up as his replied:

"Well, you know if you want something done right…"

Elizabeth didn't bother to reply. Instead, she silently drew a chair next to Robert and went on to pick up a pair of gloves before taking over the task. To her surprise, Robert did nothing to stop her. But soon she found herself hoping she hadn't been so eager to offer her help, because now she was sitting uncomfortably close to Romano, and he kept staring at her intensely while she was trying to concentrate on her job. It was frustrating, to say the least.

For a while Elizabeth kept working silently on Romano's arm, but then she suddenly became aware of a change in his expression as he winced.

"Did that hurt?" she asked almost hopefully.

"Kind of."

The doctor in Elizabeth immediately took over:

"What do you mean 'kind of'?" she asked, frowning.

Robert shrugged. He obviously didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"I just thought I felt something," he replied "But it was probably just my imagination."

Elizabeth immediately picked up a stick and, after quickly glancing at Robert, she poked it into the cut. He winced again:

"Ouch"

They exchanged looks and Elizabeth's lips slowly curved into a delighted smile. Robert, however, hid his satisfaction better.

"Give it to me" he grunted, motioning towards the stick with his head. "Let me try."

"No, I need to tie up your wound." Elizabeth declined, returning to her professional mode again. "That arm doesn't need any more damage."

"But I…"

"You felt something and that's enough for now. We are not taking any risks of another infection. You'll see Dr. Gunn tomorrow." 

Robert glared at her, but didn't say anything more. He looked away and let Elizabeth finish the parsing of his arm in silence. 

"There now," she finally spoke with a slightly awkward smile when she was done. "As good as new."

"Very funny, Lizzie." Robert snorted. "You know it'll never be as good as new again."

"But it is getting better." Elizabeth insisted. 

"Usually when there's a step forward there'll soon be two steps backwards," he countered.

"Maybe this will be a turn for the better."

"I wish I could believe that."

There was a short silence, then Elizabeth swallowed and slowly placed her hand on the injured arm.

"Robert, it will get better," she assured him. "Maybe it will never be fully functional again, but at this point even partial recovery…"

"And what do I do with a partially recovered arm?" Robert cut in impatiently. "You know it won't allow me to return to surgery."

"But it will allow you to do a lot of other things."

Robert didn't reply, but Elizabeth could see that he had acknowledged the truth of her words. She decided it was time to change the subject:

"Robert" she began gently, removing her hand from the unfeeling arm to trace the fingers of the other one.

He instantly looked up, surprised, eyes full of doubt and hidden emotion.

Elizabeth blushed, but went on to grasp his hand and gently squeeze it. Then she slowly lifted her face to meet his eyes with a steady look.

"Do you remember how I asked you to join me for dinner a few days ago?" she asked, obviously confusing Robert even more. He could only nod.

 "And you asked," Elizabeth continued. "If I really wanted it or if I was just trying to please you."

Romano cleared his throat as if to force the words out of his suddenly very dry mouth:

"Yes, I recall that," he said hoarsely.

Elizabeth gave a small smile, pushing away the last seeds of doubt that still lingered in her mind. 

"The answer is 'yes'," she said, lowering her voice until it was a mere whisper.

"'Yes' to which part?" Robert's dark eyes were pouring searchingly into Elizabeth's blue ones, and she suddenly felt very weak.

"To the first one," she heard herself gasping. Then, gaining control of her voice again, she added more reassuringly: "I really want it."

Her words were met with silence. Elizabeth wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed when Robert looked away before he finally spoke:

"Elizabeth," he began quietly, but his voice was growing stronger as he spoke: "You don't have to do this. I know it's just…"

"But I want to." Elizabeth cut him off firmly.

"Why?"

Elizabeth blushed again and looked down at her hand which was still squeezing Robert's fingers. She withdrew her arm as if his skin was suddenly burning her.

"Elizabeth?"

She took a deep breath, feeling her own pulse beginning to race again. This was it. She now had the perfect opportunity to open up to Robert and get it over and done with, but for some reason the words were refusing to come out of her mouth. 

After what seemed like an eternity, but what might have been only a few seconds, Elizabeth forced herself to look up again. Robert was gazing at her with a closed expression on his face. 

"I can't do this," she told herself as she stumbled up from her chair, not even realizing she had said anything aloud before she felt the weight of Romano's hand landing on the palm of her which was still resting on the table.

"Can't do what?" he demanded, getting up as well and moving around the table to face Elizabeth.

"This," she blurted out before her mind could catch up with the actions of the rest of her body. Then, to the shock of them both, Elizabeth grabbed Robert's head between her hands and leaned in to place a short but fiery kiss on his frozen lips. The sensation only lasted for seconds and before Robert could even realize what had happened, Elizabeth had broken the kiss and was heading out of the door, feeling so light-headed she wasn't even sure which way she was supposed to be going.

TBC


	11. When the Past Meets the Future

Disclaimer: For the last time; I do not own these characters, I don't own ER, and I don't even own the computer I'm using right now. In short, I don't own anything at all, so suing me would be pointless.

Thanks for all the great feedback! All you lovely reviewers may now congratulate yourselves, because I have finished this story and I couldn't have done it without you. I decided not to turn this into an R-rated story after all (I'll save that for the sequel if I ever write one), but I hope you'll still find the ending satisfactory.

Part of the dialogue in this chapter has been strongly influenced by the episode Of Past Regret and Future Fear, but before anyone sues me, see the disclaimer. ;)

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Chapter 11 – When the Past Meets the Future

"Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth could hear her name being called after her, but she was too flustered to stop. She could still feel the warmth of Robert's lips on hers, and she was only dimly aware of the ER buzzing around her. She had to get out. She needed to cool down. 

"Elizabeth!" 

This time she could hear the voice sounding much more commanding. It was coming from much closer, accompanied by hurried footsteps. Elizabeth had just made her way out of the door when Romano finally caught up with her. He grabbed her arm to make her stop, ignoring the bunch of doctors and nurses that were standing at the ambulance bay, waiting for new patients to arrive.

"Lizzie," he panted, still slightly out of breath after the running. "What was that all about?"

By this time all the people gathered at the bay had turned around to see what was going on. They all seemed to think they were witnessing round #1,697,203 of the ever continuing battle of words between the doctors Corday and Romano, and were holding their breaths, expecting a sharp response from Elizabeth to silence her colleague. But none of that was coming. Elizabeth was still feeling oddly light-headed, as if a huge weight had just been lifted off, and all she could manage for an answer was a grin directed at her own shoes.

"Elizabeth?" This time Romano's voice was getting impatient. "Would you care to share what's so amusing?"

"Robert," still grinning, Elizabeth finally turned to look at him, ignoring his question. "What would you say of a cup of coffee?" 

"Coffee?"

"Yes," she confirmed, nodding towards the infamous Doc Magoo's across the street.

"Um…Well…Don't you people have anything better to do?!" Robert suddenly turned towards the nurses and attendants around them and he frowned at Carter who had also appeared. Then he returned his attention to Elizabeth: "Fine. I'll have coffee," he replied, "But if I were you I'd try some tranquilizer instead."

"I think coffee will do just fine." Elizabeth smiled. They began walking towards the cafeteria in silence, and after a while Elizabeth continued: "You know, I always thought I preferred tea, but lately I've been thinking I might have been wrong all these years. Coffee has its merits. It makes it so much easier to get up in the morning and yet…it can also keep you going all night long."

"Lizzie, you scare me," Robert retorted, sounding half amused, half worried, and having no idea what she was talking about. Elizabeth knew she must have given the impression by her recent actions and words that she was losing it, but she enjoyed Robert's present state of confusion too much to reassure him she still had her sanity.

"What? You don't like coffee?" she asked innocently, "Perhaps you haven't tried the right kind. You see, I'm quite certain that a small cup with strong contents is often better than a huge cup with very lame…coffee."

"Um…right." Robert replied, glancing curiously at Elizabeth. "But whatever you say, the poison they serve here is awful in all forms, and the small cup is better only because there's less to swallow."

They then entered the café and chose a table in the far end of the place before Romano continued, changing his tone from confused to commanding:

"Ok, Lizzie. Spit it out," he ordered plainly. "I see you've done your best to distract me, but tell me, what the hell was that – that kiss all about?"

"What? You didn't enjoy it?" Elizabeth asked archly, still trying to avoid giving a direct answer, because she didn't know how she should explain herself or much she could reveal.

"That's not what I meant." Romano sighed, getting impatient. "I just want to know your motivation before thinking any more of it."

"Well…" Elizabeth began hesitantly. What had been so easy to express by the swift action of locking their lips was so much harder to explain in words. "You see, that was…I think I got a bit carried away," she confessed, blushing.

"Yes, I could gather as much," Robert retorted. His voice sounded almost indifferent, but he looked very serious, even vulnerable. "What I would like to know is _why _that happened. Look…" 

He didn't finish his sentence as they were then interrupted by the waitress who had come to take their orders. Elizabeth quickly chose a regular cup of coffee and Robert settled for the same without even looking at the list. Once the girl was gone, he continued:

"Look, if that was just some joke…or something that one of the desk jerks dared you to do, a bet or something..." he trailed off, picking up the creamer and fingering it absently.

Elizabeth was feeling awful. Did he really think she would sink that low?

"Robert," she began, but when he wasn't looking at her, she paused and reached her hand to lift his face up, forcing him to look her in the eye. "You know I would never do that, don't you?"

Robert didn't answer.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to continue, but didn't know where to start from. It was at that moment when a sudden memory of an event from roughly five years ago came to her mind and made her smile. Encouraged, she began: "The thing is…I mean, there's no way to say this but flat out, so I'll say it as it is: our relationship has not moved in the direction I now realize it should have. Now, partly that is because I have been foolish and also because I'm not very good at communicating these kind of feelings, but the truth is that…I find you attractive."

Robert was now staring at her with a look of mingled disbelief and amusement, and something which might have been either hope or doubt – it was obvious he also remembered the first time he had asked her out, in the same place, with almost the same words. 

"Pretty good speech," he said after a moment of silence. "Whoever taught you that must have been a man of great wisdom."

"Hardly," Elizabeth snorted. "But he has his moments."

"And you find him attractive?"

"Well, if I forget his lack of hair, height and manners…and the fact that most of the time he is a pompous ass, then yes," Elizabeth smiled, "In some unthinkable way I do find him attractive."

"Wow, Lizzie, you really know how to boost a man's ego. Be careful or it might explode."

"I don't think there is any way I could possibly make that ego any bigger than what it already is."

"Don't be too sure about that," Robert quipped. Then he fell silent and turned serious again.

Elizabeth could sense he still doubted her sincerity, and quite frankly she couldn't blame him after all the years of rejection, but she was beginning to be at a loss as to how to get herself through to him. She reached her hand to touch his and decided to wait for him to speak next.

He looked down at their linked hands, then back up to Elizabeth's eyes as if asking for a permission for more. She tried to smile reassuringly, all the while being embarrassingly aware of the fact that her face was flushing again. Slowly Robert let go of her hand and lifted it up to her burning face, reaching gently to caress her cheek. His touch sent a warm shiver through Elizabeth's body and she closed her eyes to endeavor the sensation. She opened them again when she heard Robert whispering her name:

"Elizabeth?"

"Mmh?" 

"Will you go out with me?" He was holding his breath, as if still preparing for the worst.

Elizabeth smiled at him, keeping him in suspense.

"I thought you'd never ask," she finally replied, her smile growing wider as she spoke, and suddenly Robert chuckled:

"I have, actually," he pointed out. "On more than one occasion, I might add." 

"But that was long ago," Elizabeth protested. "We were both two very different people back then." 

The smile on Robert's lips died as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Yeah. I still had two good arms those days." he sighed.

"That's not what I meant" Elizabeth hurried to assure him. "In fact, I think it's mostly I who is different. Or maybe I've just come to know myself better and realized that what I once thought I wanted and needed is not what I really do need."

"And what is it, then, that you really want?"

The word 'you' played on Elizabeth's lips, but she wasn't ready say it, not yet.

"Something different than what I had," she replied instead. Then, realizing what she had just implied, hastened to add: "I'm not saying that I did not love Mark, because I did - very dearly. It's just that, although I still miss him, and always will miss him, as a friend and companion, and as the father of my child …I don't really miss him as a man – or as a husband."

Elizabeth didn't know why she was suddenly telling this all to Robert, of all people, but for some reason it was important to her that he knew - that he understood where she was coming from. After finishing her speech she fell silent, as if waiting for him to pass his judgement, but when he said nothing, she continued:

"You see, when he died, the only thing I felt was pain and sorrow, and I couldn't – or didn't want to – sort out my feelings for him. All I knew was that I missed him. I couldn't bare to think at the time if I really was missing the love of my life or just a dear friend, or even worse; if I was only missing the fact that I had someone to share my life with. But when time passed and I got over the worst period of adjustment, I had to start thinking again, and I had to be honest with myself. Mark was an excellent man. He was good, kind, loving…and yet, as much as I loved him, I'm not sure if our marriage would have lasted, had he lived. In short, I'm not so certain anymore if he really was the right man for me in the first place."

Elizabeth fell silent again, wondering if she had said too much. After all, she had just confessed something she had never said aloud before, hardly even admitted to herself. Yet, she felt somehow secure that she could talk to Robert about anything and he would understand, or at least make the effort to understand, which was more than most people would bother to do. 

As she looked up to see the effect of her speech on Romano, she knew she had been right. The look on his face reminded her of the day she had told him about Mark's returned tumor. He had been of great support for her then and she knew she would be again. He'd always be, if she only let him.

"Elizabeth…" he finally began, but didn't seem to know how to continue. It was obvious that he was even more surprised than Elizabeth herself of her sudden moment of openness. 

"You don't have to say anything," she cut him off. "I just…I just felt like I had to get that all out."

"I'm glad you did," he said simply, squeezing her hand gently.

Another awkward silence followed, during which Elizabeth nervously sipped her coffee and Robert kept staring at his own, untouched cup.

"So," Elizabeth finally made an attempt to continue the discussion. "What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?"

Hundreds of questions rushed through Elizabeth's mind and she didn't know where to start from.

"There's so much about you that I don't know…", she sighed. 

"You never asked," he replied simply, still staring at his cup.

"Would you have told me everything if I had?"

"I guess not."

"Will you tell know?"

"I guess that depends on what you want to know."

Elizabeth took a deep breath.

"Well, there are a lot of things…", she began.

"Such as?" Robert finally took a sip of his coffee.

"Such as… Have you ever been in love?" she asked, almost instantly regretting her question as Robert set his cup down and frowned, looking away.

Then he turned to look at Elizabeth again, smiling ruefully.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Of course," Elizabeth assured him. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't"

"In that case," Robert turned to look at his watch, "I'd say your pager will "go off" in about five seconds or something else will come up and you will have to excuse yourself. Trust me, I know the drill by now"

"Why, are you trying to say…" Elizabeth dropped off mid-sentence as she suddenly realized what Robert must be meaning, and the look in his eyes confirmed her suspicion. She quickly looked down at her hands, trying to conceal a fresh blush on her face.

"I think that's my cue," Robert said, standing up swiftly. He quickly paid the coffee and was out before Elizabeth could do as much as blink. However, as soon as she did register that he was gone, and could see his retreating figure through the window, she too jumped up and rushed after him.

"Robert!" she yelled as soon as she figured she was near enough to be heard. "Wait!"

The man ahead of her stopped, but didn't turn around. Elizabeth reached him in a hurry and, not knowing what else to do or say, slipped her hand under his elbow and patted it gently.

"Don't you think you forgot something?" she breathed, very much out of breath after the running.

"Well, I obviously forgot you have been behaving very strangely today," he replied, looking down at his elbow to which she was hanging.

Elizabeth ignored his comment and continued:

"We didn't fix that date yet," she said, still breathing heavily. "That is, if you still want to go."

"On a date?" he repeated. "With you?" 

"Yes," Elizabeth looked at him quizzically. "Didn't you just ask me out?"

"Never," he said flatly. Then, grinning at Elizabeth's dumbfound expression, added: "Never in million years would I let go of such an opportunity."

"Why, you little…" Elizabeth began, but was interrupted when Robert pressed his finger firmly against her lips to silence her.

"Rule number one, Lizzie;" he said, tracing her lips with his finger. "Never call me little."

"And rule number two?" Elizabeth breathed, forgetting her annoyance and surrendering completely to the man before her as Robert cupped the side of her face in his hand.

"I'll think of something later," he replied. Then, running his hand from Elizabeth's left cheek to the back of her neck, he pulled her down for a kiss that was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It was full of hunger, yet gentle, forceful but still slightly hesitant. At first all Elizabeth could do was let her lips part and let him explore the depths of her mouth with all the passion he had been holding back for so long, but as soon as he had to pull back for a short breath, she promptly took her turn to work her way through his lips and the rest of his mouth. She was just preparing to move on from the tongue to explore the strong lines of Robert's jaw when the sound of an approaching ambulance made them aware of their surroundings again.

They were standing on the side of a busy street, only a corner separating them from all the gossips of the County General. With a silent agreement they broke apart, but after a quick look around to make sure that no one was paying attention to them, they leaned in for another kiss, which was meant to be quick but which would inevitably have turned into another long sucking session had they not been interrupted by the first drops of a spring rain that was taking over Chicago.

With regret, they broke apart again. Elizabeth was feeling breathless and completely at loss for words. She brought her hand to her mouth and smiled as she saw Romano licking his lips, looking both satisfied and thoughtful. Something needed to be said, but neither of them seemed to have the words.

"It's raining," Elizabeth finally stated.

"No kidding," Robert retorted.

Another awkward silence.

"So," Robert continued, watching as the raindrops began forming small ponds on the streets. "Shall we stay here and see how soaked we can get or should we try to find a shelter?"

Finally Elizabeth smiled again and reached out to grab Robert's arm.

"I don't mind the rain," she replied, "Let's walk." And with that she dragged Romano with her and they began strolling away from the nearness of the hospital, with no particular direction in their minds.

They walked in companionable silence for a while. They had their arms linked, and as they were now close enough now to one another to feel each other's warmth, words were no longer necessary. At the river they finally stopped and Elizabeth spoke again:

"That woman you said you had been in love with," she began softly, reaching her hand to caress Robert's face with the pretence of wiping away raindrops. "Was that really me?" she whispered.

A small smile appeared on Robert's lips.

"It always has been you," he replied simply, catching Elizabeth's hand of his cheek and bringing it on to his lips, before leaning in to plant a full kiss on her lips, this time with less force and more gentle loving. The rain kept pouring down on them, but neither of them cared about it as they became more and more absorbed in their tight embrace and the kiss that was to be a start of their new future, together.

THE END


End file.
